asked the Secretary of State for War whether his Department has recently disposed of a quantity of officers' highland brogue shoes; and, if so, the price of such shoes when purchased by the Department and the disposal price?

No officers' shoes have been disposed of. A sale was, however, recently made of a number of highland shoes which were originally purchased for issue during the War to other ranks. As regards the last part of the question, it would be con- trary to established practice to disclose contract prices.

asked the Secretary of State for War the number of boots and shoes disposed of by his Department and the reasons for such disposal; whether they were sold by private treaty or disposed of by sending them to one or more of the principal auctioneers; and what was the contracting price per pair and also the disposal price per pair?

Since 1st April, 1923, when the War Department took over the sale of surplus Army stocks from the Disposal and Liquidation Commission, approximately 200,000 pairs of boots and 27,500 pairs of shoes have been sold. The boots and shoes, which were made of war-time material, were found unfit for Army requirements. They were sold by competitive tendering. As regards the last part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to my previous reply.

asked the Secretary of State for War what means he has, when boots distributed to the forces are faulty, of tracing the contractor; and whether the boots he has still contain the identification marks?

The contractor's name, or an identifying letter or number, has to be stamped on the boots.

asked the hon. Member for Monmouth, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, what has been the average number of men in their employ during the last three years; what number they are employing at present and how many of these are engaged temporarily; and what is the estimated number of men that would be required for a planting programme of 200,000 acres per year?

The average number of employés in the Commission's forests during the last three years was 2,670; the number employed at present is 3,495, of whom some 15 per cent. are seasonal employés. The estimated number required for a planting programme of 200,000 acres per year is 28,000.

asked the hon. Member for Monmouth, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, how many sheep farms in Glenurquhart have been taken over for the purpose of afforestation: whether any land other than those sheep farms can be planted with trees; the acreage of the farms taken over for this purpose, and the acreage apart from the sheep farms that can be afforested?

No sheep farms have been acquired by the Forestry Commission in Glenurquhart, the acquisition of 2,381 acres in that glen being from deer forest lands. The remainder of the question does not arise.

asked the hon. Member for Monmouth, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, how many acres of land formerly or lately in use for sheep grazing have been planted with trees or are in process of being planted by the Forestry Commissioners?

Of the sheep grazing lands acquired by the Forestry Commissioners in Scotland 15,188 acres will have been planted by the end of the current planting season.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the number of vagrants using the casual wards throughout the country has increased during the last two years owing to the restriction of unemployment benefit and the housing shortage; and what steps he is taking to deal with the matter?

My right hon. Friend is aware that there has been an increase in the number of vagrants relieved in casual wards during the past two years, but there is no evidence to show that it is due to either of the causes referred to by the hon. Member. I would remind the hon. Member of the revision and reissue in 1925 of the Regulations dealing with the relief of the casual poor, and I would refer him as to the further action which has been taken, to the Annual Reports issued by my right hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that on the 31st January the clerk to the Visiting Committee of the North Riding Mental Hospital sent to the Board of Control plans and specifications of a proposed residence for the medical superintendent, and that up to the present no sanction has yet been received; whether he is aware that the contract was entered into three months ago and the delay is causing great inconvenience; and whether he will inquire into the cause of this delay?

My hon. Friend is making further inquiries into this case, and will communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Health if he can give the total amount of the reserve fund in connection with the National Health Insurance Act held on 31st December, 1927, or the latest available date, by the National Health Insurance Commissioners and by approved societies, respectively?

The total amount of the invested funds of approved societies in connection with the National Health Insurance Act at 31st December, 1927, was, approximately, £111,000,000: £56,000,000 invested with the National Debt Commissioners under Sub-section (1) of Section 70 of the National Health Insurance Act, 1924, and £55,000,000 invested by or on behalf of societies under Sub-sections (2) and (3) of Section 71.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been drawn to the case of Mrs. J. Hayne, of 18, Dobbins Road, Cadoxton, Barry, whose husband died on the 5th December, 1927, after being in receipt of sick or disablement benefit under National Health Insurance from 11th April, 1925; whether he is aware that an inspector from his Department visited the widow on 1st January, 1928, and that since that date she has had no communication from the Insurance Department, and when the pension of this widow will be issued?

I am advised that the notice informing Mrs. Hayne that a pension had been awarded to her was issued on the 31st March. The delay in the settlement of the claim was in part due to difficulty in determining whether the only child was within the pensionable age, the registration of the birth at the proper time having apparently been omitted, and in part to difficulties connected with the insurance history of the deceased husband.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the cost in price and time in construction of any submarine of the 700-ton class built, or in course of building, at private yards as compared with the "Odin," now being built at Chatham Dockyard?

I assume that my hon. and gallant Friend's question refers to submarines of tonnage

Ship.				Building Yard.			Total Estimated Cost, including Incidental Charges but excluding Guns and Ordnance Stores.
								£
Cruisers—
"Kent"	…	…	…	Chatham	…	…		2,108,728
"Suffolk"	…	…	…	Portsmouth	…	…		2,147,837
"Cornwall"	…	…	…	Devonport	…	…		2,207,419
"Berwick"	…	…	…	Contract	…	…		1,993,108
"Cumberland"	…	…	…	Contract	…	…		1,899,721
Submarines—
"Odin"	…	…	…	Chatham	…	…		494,496
"Osiris"	…	…		Contract	…	…	Total for three £1,013,461	337,820(mean).
"Oswald"	…	…
"Otas"	…	…
"Olympus"	…	…		Contract	…	…	Total for two £690,174	345,087(mean).
"Orpheus"	…	…

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the total tonnage of the war landing pontoons built at Chatham dockyerd, their time and cost, and how this compares in time and price with those built at other establishments?

There were three landing pontoons built at Chatham

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the average cost of ships built at Chatham in comparison with those of the same class built at Portsmouth, Devonport, and by private firms?

Only a limited comparison under post-War conditions is practicable since the number of ships for His Majesty's Navy laid down since the War and completed or approaching completion is not large. I may, however, refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the figures for "Kent" class cruisers, and "O" class submarines, contained in the programme appended to the Navy Estimates, 1928. These figures show the estimated total cost of the five cruisers of the "Kent" class, excluding guns, as:during the War and the particulars asked for are as follow:

Total Tonnage.	Time taken to Build.	Cost.
Tons.		£
3650	1 in 3 months	187,079
	2 in 2½ months

asked the Minister of Transport if his inspectors have considered with the railway companies concerned the desirability of constructing in future on ail underground railways and tubes in the Metropolitan area carriages of a design permitting separate exit and entrance doors, with the object of avoiding delay in running and increasing public safety?

The reply is in the negative. I understand that, whilst this proposal has been considered by the railway companies concerned, it has not been thought practicable in the peculiar and difficult conditions affecting the underground railways of the Metropolis.

asked the Minister of Transport if the Government will give facilities for the passage into law of the Bridges Bill during the present Session?

I am afraid I cannot make any definite statement on the subject at the present time.

asked the Minister of Pensions the number of ex-service temporary clerks appointed to permanent unestablished posts in the Ministry of Pensions; and of that number how many were in receipt of disability pensions on 12th January, 1925?

Out of 1,284 eligible candidates in the Ministry who were in receipt of disability pensions on the 12th January, 1925, 1,131 were selected for appointment to permanent unestablished posts, including eight who were appointed to other Departments. The total number of ex-service temporary clerks who have been appointed to posts of the class referred to in the Ministry is 1,802.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether his attention has been called to the case of P. N. Cossins, a disabled and pensioned ex-service clerk, attached to the Issue Office at Acton, who is under notice of discharge, taking effect on 31st March; why this employé, who has a wife and four children, does not, under the Regulations, qualify for preferential employment in a permanent unestablished post as against non-disabled ex-service men; and whether, in view of the fact that Cossins had for over 10 years satisfactorily carried out his duties, he will suspend the discharge and reinvestigate the circumstances?

I regret that Mr. Cossins falls short of the standard of efficiency which has been fixed in my Department for appointment to the permanent class of unestablished clerks. The whole of the temporary clerks employed in the headquarter offices of this Ministry were under notice for the termination of their employment on the 31st March last, and I am unable to cancel the notice which has been issued to Mr. Cossins.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the names of the firms now holding from His Majesty's Stationery Office printing, stationery, and bookbinding contracts, respectively, together with the period of contract, the date upon which each expires, and the locality in which each is being executed?

The number of running contracts for printing, stationery and bookbinding at present held from His Majesty's Stationery Office is 1,409, viz.:

• 1,341 Printing contracts held by 794 firms.
• 33 Supplies contracts held by 22 firms.
• 35 Bookbinding contracts held by 22 firms.

The hon. Member will appreciate that the preparation of a statement setting out in detail each of these 1,409 contracts would entail much labour and be costly to produce. Particulars of the more important contracts are published in the Ministry of Labour Gazette when they are awarded, and full lists are posted from time to time outside the Stationery Office building in Princes Street, Westminster.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the

	1st August, 1914.			1st August, 1927.
Number.	Grade of Private Secretaries.	Total Emoluments.	Number.	Grade of Private Secretaries.	Total Emoluments.
		£			£
103	First Division Clerks (including Junior Examiners), 67.	46,080	128	Administrative Class, 88.	98,979
				Executive Class 12.
	Second Division Clerks, 12.			Clerical Class, 9.
	Other Grades, 24.			Other Grades,19.
Of the officers shown above, 10 in 1914 and 13 in 1927 were employed part time on other duties.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether any efforts have been made by his Department to ease the distress caused by unemployment among the tin miners?

The relief of distress is of course primarily a matter for the boards of guardians, and I have not received any complaint of difficulties being experienced by a board of guardians as the result of unemployment among the tin miners, except from the Redruth Union. In the case of this union I have, on the advice of the Goschen Committee, advanced a loan of £20,000 and have agreed to a postponement of the repayment of certain instalments in respect of this loan pending an improvement in the conditions of the union.

asked the Minister of Labour the total sum paid in unemployment insurance benefit to steel and iron workers from 1920 to 1927, inclusive; and the figures for Poor Law relief to these workers for the same period?

The records of unemployment benefit do not distinguish

The particulars asked for are as follow:the amounts paid in separate trades. Records of the numbers of workpeople unemployed by trades have, however, been maintained since June, 1923. Assuming that the workpeople in the steel and iron trades (including pig iron and iron and steel melting, rolling and forging) drew the same average amount of unemployment benefit per head as unemployed workpeople generally, and allowing for the relatively small proportion of women and juveniles included, it is estimated that the total amount of unemployment benefit paid to them during the period June,1923, to December, 1927, was in the neighbourhood of £9,500,000. Records of Poor Law relief paid to work-people in separate trades are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of men and women employed in the cutlery trade?

At the population census of 1921, there were in Great Britain 12,224 males and 4,590 females classified as belonging to the cutlery industry, exclusive of employers and managers. This industry is not separately classified for the purpose of unemploy- ment insurance statistics, and figures for a later date than 1921, are therefore not available.

asked the Minister of Labour the circumstances leading up to the resignation of Mr. Sidney Eraut, an imperial officer, acting as chief factory inspector in the Ministry of Labour of Northern Ireland; when Mr. Eraut was due to retire; on what terms in respect of a lump sum and pension he retired; and whether the Imperial or the Northern Ireland Government paid the lump sum and is paying the pension?

I have no information with regard to this matter, which appears to fall within the jurisdiction of the Government of Northern Ireland.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that farmers and shepherds in the North Tyne valley and in other similar valleys are experiencing great difficulty in selling eggs; and if he will instruct his local officials to look into the matter?

I have no knowledge of the difficulty to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers, but if he will send me information as to farmers and shepherds with whom my officers can communicate, I will have inquiries made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that some dissatisfaction exists on the English side of the Scots border because Scotland has moorland drainage schemes and England has not; and if he will look into the matter?

I am aware that there is some demand for assistance in carrying out such schemes, and when funds were available for assisting land drainage schemes designed for the alleviation of unemployment, grants were made by the Ministry to a number of schemes promoted by county councils for the improvement of open drainage systems in upland districts in the North of England. Grants from the funds more recently placed at my disposal have been strictly limited to schemes promoted by Statutory Drainage Authorities (which have no counterpart in Scotland) as it was considered that these funds could be most usefully applied in assisting large schemes of arterial drainage designed to confer a wide benefit on agricultural land. These funds have been fully allocated, and no applications for grants can now be considered. I may add that by the Land Drainage Act, 1926, councils of counties and county boroughs in England and Wales are now empowered to carry out small drainage schemes, and otherwise to assist land drainage.