asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to a recent prosecution, in connection with the Cremation Act, 1902, at the instance of Mr. Cyril Hugh Sackville Barham, against an alleged executor of his father's will who was deponent to a statutory delaration in support of an application for cremation of his father's. remains, by virtue of which statutory declaration such remains were cremated without the prosecutor, the eldest son, having even been informed of his father's death; and whether, in view of such declaration having in fact been the means of evading the intention of the Act, he will consider the desirability of amending the Regulations made by the Home Department with regard to such statutory declarations so as to prevent the possibility of the recurrence of such a case, and particularly of amending Question No. 4 in any such application so as to read as follows: "Have you personally informed the near relatives of the deceased, and who, or caused them to be severally informed that the cremation of the body of the deceased is about to take place"?

I am weir aware of the facts of this case. The circumstances were very exceptional; the deceased having been estranged and having lived apart from his family for many years. It is the only case of the kind that has so far come to the knowledge of my Department, and I do not think is very likely to recur. I will, however, consider the question of amending the statutory form so as to meet this point in the event of a revision of the Cremation Regulations being undertaken.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of seamen, including lascars, who have been killed by casualties or died from disease in vessels registered in Great Britain under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, for the 12 months ended to the last convenient date?

The number of deaths from all causes reported as having occurred during 1926 among the crews of all vessels registered in the United Kingdom under the Merchant Shipping Acts, was 1,449, of' which 95 occurred among the crews of fishing vessels.

The detailed figures are as follow: — Trading Vessels. Fishing Vessels. Deaths from casualty to vessel. 214 39 Deaths from accidents, other than casualty to vessel. 337 46 Deaths from disease 744 10 Deaths from homicide and suicide. 59 — Total deaths 1,354 95

The above figures are subject to slight revision.

asked the Minister of Health if he has received representations from traders or his inspectors to the effect that since 1st July there have been greater losses of bacon and ham due to decomposition than normally occur, and that such losses are attributable to the preservatives Regulations recently coming into force; and if he is inquiring into the subject?

I have received representations to this effect from certain associations representing retail traders. One of these representations relates to Continental bacon which has, in fact, for many years been free from preservatives. I am keeping the matter under observation, but I anticipate that any initial difficulties which are being experienced in regard to other imported bacon will quickly be overcome.

asked the Minister of Labour the respective contributions made during the years 1924, 1925, and 1926 under the Unemployment Insurance Acts by the workers grouped in the "Labour Gazette" as canal, river, docks, and harbour services, and the amount of benefit paid in each of the years in question?

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 24th November, 1927; col. 2086, Vol. 210], supplied the following statement:

Definite information as to the contribution paid and benefit received in the canal, river, dock, and harbour service is only obtainable in respect of the dock industry at Liverpool. In the time available it has only been possible to base an estimate of the contributions and benefit of the industry on the Liverpool figures on the assumption that the conditions at Liverpool would not vary very much from the conditions in the rest of the industry.

On this basis the contributions received and benefit paid are as follow: — Contributions of employers and employed. State contribution. Benefit paid. £ £ £ 1924 562,000 197,000 2,750,000 1925 602,000 216,000 3,600,000 1926 608,000 203,000 3,275,000

The figures can only be regarded as a rough estimate.

asked the Minister of Labour the respective contributions made during the years 1924, 1925, and 1926 to the Unemployment Insurance Fund by the men engaged in the following ports: London, Liverpool, Manchester and Salford, Hull, Newcastle, and Glasgow?

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 24th November, 1927; col. 2086, Vol. 210], supplied the following statement:

The amounts contributed to the Unemployment Fund in respect of holders of dock tallies in the Port of Liverpool during the years 1924, 1925, and 1926, may be roughly estimated at £60,000, £64,000, and £50,000, respectively, of which rather less than one-half was contributed by the workers. In addition there was an Exchequer contribution of about one-third of the amounts mentioned. The benefit paid during the same years was £294,000, £387,000, and £323,000. I regret that statistics are not available in regard to the other ports mentioned in the question.

asked the Minister of Health the number of men receiving outdoor relief in Salford who are, and have been, attending instructional classes for the past six months?

190 men have attended these classes since the inception of the scheme in March, 1927, and 49 are at present in attendance.

asked the Prime Minister, in view of the fact that Westminster Bridge was built by the proceeds of a lottery held in 1736, whether the Government will consider a similar method of raising the necessary funds for the proposed Charing Cross Bridge and other bridges?

I do not think my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion would find much favour.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he will make inquiries as to the legal maximum number of pupils allowed in an elementary school class in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England, and Scotland?

I am sending the hon. Member such information on the subject as I have at my disposal.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can arrange to publish a Return, similar to the Fleets Return published by the Admiralty, showing the active and reserve strengths of the armies of all the principal countries, together with information as to the equipment with guns, machine guns, and tanks?

I regret that information is not available to enable such a return to be compiled.

asked the Postmaster-General how many telephone equipment hand-sets are in daily use in the private exchanges in different parts of the country?

As there are about 63,500 private branch exchanges throughout the country, I regret that the information asked for could not be obtained without considerable labour and expense.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that a period of three weeks only is allowed for the payment of telephone accounts, and if payment is not made within three days thereafter subscribers are summarily disconnected; and whether, in view of the fact that telephone rentals are paid in advance, that if subscribers are absent from home accounts may not reach them within the period allowed for payment, and of the inconvenience resulting from temporary disconnection, he will extend the period allowed for payment to one month, and the further period of three days allowed after receipt of the final notice to 10 days?

A second and final notice is not sent until 21 days after the first application, and in actual practice service is not withdrawn until seven days after the issue of the final notice. Should it be known that a subscriber is away from home, special consideration would be given to the case. A considerable amount of unnecessary labour and expenditure would be saved if subscribers would pay their telephone accounts on receipt of the first application, but in 25 per cent. of the accounts the first application is ignored. I do not consider that an extension of the period of grace is necessary, while it would certainly delay the collection of telephone revenue.

asked the Postmaster-General how many telephones have been provided in Lindsey under his scheme for increasing the number of telephones at rural railway stations, and where they are situated; and how many others are contemplated in the near future for Lindsey,and at what stations?

Six stations in Lindsey have been provided with telephones under the scheme referred to, namely, Healing, Horncastle, Market Rasen, Mablethorpe, New Holland and North Thoresby. There are no other stations in Lindsey at which the provision of telephones under this scheme is proposed at present. I may mention that at 15 other rural stations in Lindsey the railway company rent exchange lines.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of male telegraphists attached to the inland gallery staff of the Central Telegraph Office who have reached their maximum pay; how many of those officers entered the telegraph service between the years 1881 and 1892; and what proportion of that number may expect promotion to the next grade during the ensuing 12 months?

The numbers are 804 and 211, respectively. So far as can be foreseen, none of the officers in the second category are likely to secure promotion during the ensuing 12 months.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sums have been received by the Exchequer in the years 1925–26 and 1926–27, and what sums he has estimated for the year 1927–28, in respect of transfers from various funds, and balances held outside the Exchequer; sales of War stores; profits or surpluses on various accounts arising out of the War, such as the enemy debt surplus and the War risks insurance account; sums taken during the year by a reduction of the balances held by revenue departments outside the Exchequer; anticipation of taxes by which more than one year's receipts are brought to account in a single Budget; and any other item of a capital or non-recurrent character?

The materials for answering this complicated question will be found by my hon. and gallant Friend in House of Commons Papers 69/1926, 90/1926, 54/1927 and 71/1927 and in the statements made on behalf of the Government during the Budget Debates of 1926 and 1927. To these, at present, I have nothing to add.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the danger to traffic on the Bath road caused by the two narrow gates at the entrances to Savernake Forest, both of which are situated on corners; and whether he can take any steps to have these gates widened or removed?

I recognise the inconvenience caused by these gates, about which correspondence has passed between my Department and the Wiltshire County Council, who are the responsible highway authority. No feasible solution of the difficulty has yet been found, but the matter is not being overlooked, and I am anxious to assist in bringing about some improvement of the existing conditions.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the increase in the number of serious accidents due to the absence of footpaths on country roads, he will circularise the local highway authorities regarding the desirability of providing footpaths on all roads used by motor traffic?

In suitable cases grants are made from the Road Fund towards the cost of providing footpaths, but in many areas the local authorities are at present not in a position to promote improvements of this kind on a wholesale scale. I do not, therefore, think that the time is opportune for the issue of a circular such as the hon. Member suggests.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has referred to the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee the question of what improvements in the lay-out of the southern approach to Vauxhall Bridge can be made to reduce the daily traffic congestion at this point and the number and cost of policemen employed on traffic duty at this point; and, if so, whether the recommendations of the committee will be made public?

The difficulties and congestion of traffic which occur at Vauxhall Cross have been thoroughly investigated by my Department, and the London Traffic Advisory Committee have the matter under consideration. When I have received the Report of the London Traffic Advisory Committee in the matter, I will consider whether the purport of their recommendations can, with advantage, be made public.

asked the Minister of Transport whether any application has been made to him for any grant towards the improvement of the southern approach to Vauxhall Bridge which the Royal Commission on cross-river communication declared was an urgent necessity, and the cost of which was but small?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The recommendations of the Royal Commission on this point will, no doubt, be dealt with in a Report which I expect shortly to receive from the London Traffic Advisory Committee on the traffic conditions at Vauxhall Cross.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the usefulness of the Merton spur on the new Kingston by-pass road is seriously diminished by the narrowness of the old road between Merton and Tooting, including the level crossing over the railway at Merton Park; whether any and, if so, what provision has been made out of the Road Fund for the widening of the old road and the removal of the level crossing; and when that work will be commenced and completed?

I agree with my hon. Friend that the widening of the road to which he refers would effect a desirable improvement, and I have indicated grants from the Road Fund towards the cost of widening three short lengths of it. One of these widenings has recently been completed, and the other two will be put in hand so soon as possession of the necessary property can be obtained. The local authorities concerned are in communication with my Department as to the widening of other sections as and when opportunity offers, and the practicability of the removal of the level crossing is being explored.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the conflict of opinion between the Government veterinary surgeon and the local veterinary surgeon engaged in the recent alleged outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the Slough district, he will make a statement on the case?

On 8th November, foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed on the premises of a retail and wholesale butcher at Windsor, who, in the course of his business visited a large number of premises to purchase animals. This butcher on 4th November visited the premises of a farmer at Slough, Buckinghamshire, to buy some sheep. As the butcher might have conveyed infection from his own infected stock to those of the farmer, and also because the latter had applied for a licence to move stock, a veterinary inspector visited the farmer's premises on 9th November, and noticed that a number of the sheep were lame, three of which in addition to foot rot, showed lesions which were suspiciously like those found in the early stages of foot-and-mouth disease.

The inspector reported his suspicions to the Ministry and asked that a more senior inspector should be sent to examine the sheep. Accordingly an inspector was sent who had had great experience of foot-and-mouth disease when working under the Foot-and-Mouth Research Com- mittee, and also when dealing with outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease which have occurred in recent years. This second inspector reported that he thought the sheep were affected with foot-and-mouth disease but the lesions were not sufficiently definite to justify a positive diagnosis.

The following day, 10th November, the two inspectors again visited the sheep, and found that in the meantime the disease had progressed and there were lesions present which were clearly those of foot-and-mouth disease. They reported their diagnosis to the chief veterinary officers of the Ministry in London, who had no hesitation in accepting it.

The veterinary surgeon who disputed this diagnosis saw the sheep on 9th November only, when the Ministry's inspectors reported that the lesions on the feet of the sheep were suspicious but not conclusive evidence of disease. Had this

Ships laid down or complete in Private Shipyards during the financial years 1924, 1925 and 1926, awl the expenditure on them in each of these financial years Ship Builder. Date Expenditure Laid down Completed. 1924. 1925. 1926. 1924. £ £ £ Berwick Fairfield … Sept., 1924 — 267,239 571,345 693,274 Cumberland. Vickers … Oct., 1924 — 202,907 625,404 623,161 Amazon Thorney croft … Jan., 1925 — 39,231 164,916 84,253 Ambuscade Yarrow … Dec., 1924 — 66,312 167,623 68,795 575,689 1,529,288 1,469,483 1925. Gannet Yarrow … March, 1926 — — 10,320 32,011 Peterel Yarrow … March, 1926 — — 10,321 38,314 — 20,641 70,325 1926. Shropshire Beardmore … Feb., 1927 — — 49,215 352,429 Sussex Hawthorne Leslie … Feb., 1927 — — 65,846 558,260 Seamew Yarrow … April, 1926 — — 6,167 23,606 Tern Yarrow … April, 1926 — — 6,167 35,563 — 127,395 969,858

Ships building during financial years, 1924, 1925 and 1926, which were laid down before 1924 and completed after 1926. Contract. Nelson … Armstrong … Dec., 1922 — 1,516,192 1,099,295 692,212 Rodney … Cammell Laird … Dec., 1922 — 1,417,404 1,215,322 735,313 Dockyard. Adventure … Devonport … Nov., 1922 — 145,910 224,755 388,138 Oberon … Chatham … March, 1924 — 109,919 194,387 259,121

veterinary surgeon seen the sheep again on 10th November, when characteristic vesicles of foot-and-mouth disease were present in the mouths of the sheep in addition to the lesions on the feet, which were alone present on the 9th, he would have had no difficulty in recognising the disease.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the names of the ships laid down or completed for the Admiralty in His Majesty's dockyards, stating which dockyards, and in outside yards, respectively, during the years 1924, 1925 and 1926, giving the amounts expended in each of these periods in respect of the ships specified?

The following statements give the hon. Member the information for which he asks:

Ships laid down, or complete at H.M. Dockyards during the financial years 1924, 1925 and 1926, and the expenditure on them, during each of these years Ship Where built Date Expenditure Laid down Completed. 1924. 1925. 1926. 1924. £ £ £ Shikari … Doxford, completed Chatham. — April, 1924 98* — — Witch … Thronycroft, completed Devonport. — April, 1924 5,734 7 — Whitehall … Swan Hunter, completed Chatham. — Aug, 1924 33, 809 — 129 L.54 … Denny, completed Devonport. — Aug., 1924 34,832 — — Frobisher … Devonport — Sept., 1924 183, 247 275 — L.23 … Vickers, completed Chatham. — Oct., 1924 61,988 32 — L.53 … Armstrong, completed Chatham. — Jan., 1925 104, 501 149 — Broke … Thornycroft, completed Pembroke — Jan., 1925 61, 758 377 249 Suffolk … Portsmouth Sept., 1924 — 313,018 562,292 700,745 Cornwall … Devonport Oct., 1924 — 309,417 595,928 705,908 Kent … Chatham Nov., 1924 — 319,482 520,980 613,847 1,427,688 1,680,040 2,020,878 1925 Keppel … Thornycroft, completed Portsmouth and Pembroke — April, 1925 78,402 5,402 371 Effingham … Portsmouth — July, 1925 539,629 110,639 201 X.1 … Chatham — Sept., 1925 85,655 113,165 4,898 Emerald … Armstrong, completed Chatham. — Jan., 1926 171,121 344,030 11,693 L.27 … Vickers, completed Pembroke — March, 1926 103,872 313,989 38,018 London … Portsmouth Feb, 1926 — — 154,126 736,186 Devonshire … Devonport March, 1926 — — 164,594 525,130 1,014,170 1,253,661 1,316,398 1926 L.26 … Vickers, completed Portsmouth and Devonport. — Oct., 1926 2,470 56,166 60,769 * Credit

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what has been the total mileage of new railways laid down throughout India each year for the last eight years; what is the annual mileage contemplated this year and for the next two years; what is the value of those works; and what proportion of these orders have been placed in Great Britain for rails and rolling stock as well as locomotives?

The new mileage opened and the amounts spent on new construction during the last eight years are as follow:

— New Mileage New construction expenditure. Crores of rupees. 1919–20 200 .59 1920–1 365 1.34 1921–2 268 2.56 1922–3 382 3.58 1923–4 430 2.70 1924–5 233 2.75 1925–6 352 4.38 1926–7 338 6.47 (Budget Lines only).

It is expected that about 900 new mileage will be opened in 1927–8, and it is hoped to maintain this figure during the two following years. A sum of about 7½ crores has been provided in the Indian Budget for expenditure on new lines during 1927–8, but it is not yet known what amounts will be so allocated in the two following years. It is not practicable to give the proportion of orders placed in Great Britain for rails, rolling-stock, etc., for all Indian railways, but the total orders placed outside India for all stores required for State lines, whether worked direct or by companies, since 1st January, 1923, the date from which a special record has been kept, amount to about £22,500,000, and of these, fully 85 per cent. have been placed in Great Britain.

asked the Minister of Transport the number of objections which have been presented to the Central Electricity Board by electricity undertakers, both municipal and company, to the South-East England electricity scheme; how many of these objections embody a request for a public inquiry into the proposed scheme; and if, in view of the far-reaching interests concerned which affect the general public as well as consumers of electricity he will suggest to the Central Electricity Board the desirability of setting up a public inquiry so that every feature of these proposals may receive the fullest investigation?

I can only refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on 10th November to the hon. Member for East Ham South (Mr. Barnes), of which I am sending him a copy.