asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can make any statement regarding his conversations in Paris with the French Foreign Minister?

I had only one conversation with Monsieur Briand, and that was on my way out to Geneva. It was principally occupied with the consideration of some of the questions which were on the agenda for the Council meeting. The question of disarmament was also touched upon.

May we take it, therefore, that since the further Note from Mr. Kellogg there has not been any further conversations with the French Government as to whether the reservations originally asked for should be insisted on?

I am not quite certain that I caught the hon. and gallant Member's question. I think he asked whether he might understand that since the last Note from Mr. Kellogg there had been no further conversations with the French Government. There have been none.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) whether he is aware that, on 17th December last, at Lobito Bay, an officer of the British merchant marine, named Brewer, was arrested by local native officials without any warrant, assaulted by the Portuguese postmaster, and kept four and a half months without trial, during which he has been suffering from malaria; and what steps has His Majesty's Government taken in the matter;

His Majesty's Consul-General at Loanda, a full-time salaried officer, was at Lobito when Mr. Brewer was arrested, and he immediately reported to me. He at once took all steps possible to secure Mr. Brewer's comfort during his detention, and I understand that Mr. Brewer has no complaint as regards his accommodation. His Majesty's Government are watching the case carefully and have instructed His Majesty's Consul-General to attend the trial when it takes place and meanwhile to take any opportunity which offers to expedite a hearing, if he can do so without prejudice to the interests of the accused.

Is it true that this man was kept for four and a half months without trial; and, if not, has the right hon. Gentleman made any representations to the Government concerned in the matter?

If it was not true, I do not see on what ground representations could be made. I have told the House that the Consul-General has been asked to take any opportunity to expedite the trial if he can do so without injury to the interests of the accused.

Has the right hon. Gentleman made any representations on the matter to the Portuguese Minister in London? Does he not consider it very important to see that a British seaman is not treated in this way in a Portuguese Colony?

No, Sir, I have made no representations to the Ambassador. I should have done so if I had thought that it would serve the course of justice or the protection of the citizen.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can state the number of passports issued either to women or girls for the 12 months ended to the last convenient date; and the number of these persons who applied for passports for the purpose of taking up theatrical engagements abroad.

The information desired by the hon. Member is not readily available and could only be compiled by considerable labour which I do not think would be justified. A separate record of the number applying in order to take up theatrical engagements is now being kept, but has only been in existence for a month, and the figures for a month would, I think, be of no use.

What control is exercised by the Foreign Office?

Great care is taken by the various authorities concerned with the help of the societies connected with the dramatic profession in this country to see that young women are not allowed to go abroad unless there is a real prospect of suitable employment. I have answered that question before, and I refer the hon. Member to the answer which I then gave.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the Polish Foreign minister's recent declaration that future guarantees must be negotiated before the Rhineland is evacuated, he will give an assurance that His Majesty's Government does not contemplate the grant of further guarantees to the government of Poland in connection with the evacuation of the Rhine-land.

His Majesty's Government have repeatedly stated that this country cannot give further guarantees or increase the obligations which it has taken by the Covenant of the League and the Treaty of Locarno.

May we understand then that the Government have a perfectly free hand in regard to the evacuation of the Rhineland?

Yes, Sir. Obviously, it would be a matter for joint co-operation arising out of the Treaty of Versailles, but we are under no obligation to any country.

Are any negotiations in progress with regard to evacuation?

No, Sir.

If the right hon. Getleman has a free hand, does he not think that, after 10 years, it is time that Great Britain withdrew her troops?

Perhaps the hon. and gallant Member will consult with his leader as to why he put a period of 15 years in the Treaty.

Was not the Foreign Secretary a member of the Cabinet at that time?

Yes, but my right hon. Friend is a better authority on the authorship of the Treaty.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, with the information already secured to date from the new valuation lists in the various assessment areas as to the average rent now being paid by the working classes, he can review the situation in order that the cost-of-living figure may be revised before it is next determined?

The information which is becoming available locally in connection with the new valuation lists will not for some time to come be sufficiently comprehensive to justify its use for the present purpose. I am glad to have this opportunity of correcting a misapprehension as to the immediate availability of this information which may have arisen from the answer I gave the hon. Member on 13th June.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the nature of the changes involved in recent Air Force Orders affecting the recruitment of officers for the Royal Air Force; and upon what advice the changes have been made?

As regards the first part of the question, I am sending my hon. Friend a copy of a memorandum which has been reproduced in the Order to which he refers, and in which such changes as have been made, and the reasons for them, are fully explained for the information of the Royal Air Force. As regards the second part, the object of the scheme set forth in the Order is to provide a more assured career and improved prospects of promotion for officers and non-commissioned officers without additional expenditure, and it is the result of a complete and detailed investigation of all the factors involved in the light of the experience of the past 10 years.

asked the Postmaster-General whether it is the aim of his Department to give a delivery of letters at least once on each weekday to every house in England and Wales; to what extent his Department at the present time has failed to give such daily delivery; and the additional cost which would be incurred if such daily delivery were given generally?

I cannot say that the first part of my hon. Friend's question can be answered by an unqualified affirmative, for, ever since regular deliveries were first instituted in 1897, it has always been recognised that there are isolated places in various parts of the country where a delivery every weekday could not be given except at wholly inordinate expense. A special and costly return would be necessary to enable me to furnish the information asked for in the second part of the question; but I shall be glad to make inquiry about any particular locality which my hon. Friend may have in mind.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what is the longest time that elapses between deliveries in any part of the Kingdom?

I could not say without notice.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make it his aim to restore the deliveries that were in existence before the War? We do not ask for more than that at the present moment.

Is it not correct to say that there are large areas which only receive a post twice a week?

No, Sir; I think that that would be an incorrect statement. There are large isolated localities in various parts of the country where that is true, but they are only in outlying districts, and in those parts the amount of correspondence carried is almost insignificant.

In view of the increased transport facilities, is it not true to say that places which were previously-isolated would not now be considered to be so by any other Department?

I do not think that that is so.

Will the right hon. Gentleman cease to consider his Department as purely a money-making Department for the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

asked the Minister of Health what would have been the approximate amount payable to local rates for agriculture and buildings in England and Wales for the year 1926–27 if the Agricultural Rates Acts of 1896 and 1923 had not been operative?

The amount of local rates, to which the Agricultural Rates Acts, 1896 and 1923, apply, which would have been payable in respect of agricultural land in England and Wales for the year 1926–27 if these Acts had not been operative, is estimated at £12,460,000. The Agricultural Rates Acts do not apply to buildings.

Does the figure that the right hon. Gentleman has now given correspond with his previous statements in this House?

I hope so.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say how much the aggregate rates on agricultural buildings come to?

I should have to have notice of that question.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the strength of officers' training corps and of cadet corps in connection with secondary and public schools, and the age at which pupils are enrolled to membership of these corps?

On the latest dates for which figures are available, the numbers of cadets in the junior division of the officers' training corps and the cadet corps were 34,085 and 49,841, respectively. Of these numbers, all cadets of the junior officers' training corps and 9,302 cadets of the cadet corps belonged to contingents furnished by public or secondary schools. The minimum ages at which boys are permitted to join the junior division of the officers' training corps and the cadet corps are 13 and 12 respectively.

Does the right hon. Gentleman mean to tell the House that boys 13 years of age are enrolled to be trained as officers?

They are being trained in the junior officers' training corps.

asked the Secretary of State for War what amount of public money is paid by the War Office, or other Departments, towards assisting officers' training corps and cadets corps; under what conditions is this money, if any, paid; is it paid direct to local authorities or to the governors of individual schools; and is the payment confined to schools recognised as efficient by the Board of Education?

The amounts included in Army Estimates, 1928, for the payment of grants to the junior division of the officers' training corps and the cadet corps are £37,700 and £10,250, respectively. The above amounts exclude assistance in kind such as the loan of camp equipment, etc. I am not aware that any payment is made to these corps by other Government Departments. Payment of the grants is made in the case of cadet corps to Territorial Army Associations, and in that of the junior division of the officers' training corps to the officer commanding the contingent. The conditions of such payment are laid down in the Regulations, from which I am sending the hon. Member the relevant extracts. He will also find much useful information on pages 60 to 63 of Army Estimates. The answer to the last part of the question is in the negative.

Does the right hon. Gentleman think the expenditure of public money on training boys of 12 to be soldiers is in keeping with the lip service the Government pay to the cause of peace?

That question does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Kenya Native Land Trust Bill makes provision for the inclusion as beneficially occupied land of land under cultivation and fallow land, grazing land, and land left idle after grazing; and whether all land not so occupied will be available for leasing to Europeans?

asked the Secretary for the Colonies whether the appointment of non-official Europeans to the Central Board under the Kenya Native Land Trust Bill will be submitted to him for approval; and whether he can make any statement as to the kind of qualifications which will be taken into account in the selection of these gentlemen?

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Finsbury (Mr. Gillett) on 21st June.

Are we to understand that this Native Land Trust Bill which is passing through the Kenya Assembly is one to take land from the natives and not to secure the natives in the land which they have, and will the right hon. Gentleman inquire why the nature of this legislation has been completely changed from what was intended by the Colonial Office?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative and the second, therefore, does not arise.

Has the right hon. Gentleman's attention been called to the speech of the Governor of Kenya in which his Department is attacked by the Governor for holding up this legislation?

I have seen the telegraphed report of the speech, but I cannot accept the hon. Member's description of it as an attack.

Since the right hon. Gentleman answered the previous question on the matter, has he looked up what happened to Ahab when he took Naboth's vineyard?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what outstanding questions are under discussion with King Ibn Saud; when conversations are going to be resumed; and whether the Government of Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordania, and the French authorities in Syria, have been kept informed of the course of the negotiations?

I am not in a position to add anything to the reply given to the hon. Member and the hon. Member for Norfolk, North (Mr. Buxton) on 13th June.

Is it a fact that a bomb raid was arranged on the Imam Ibn Saud yesterday, and does the right hon. Gentleman think that is the best way of coming to a satisfactory settlement in Arabia?

The Imam is not the same person as Ibn Saud, and there is no connection between the two questions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the tribute formerly paid by Cyprus out of its revenue towards the payment of interest on the Ottoman Loan continues to be levied; and, if not, to what purpose is the revenue now applied?

The Cyprus contribution towards the Ottoman Public Debt charge, amounting to £92,800 a year and formerly known as the "tribute," is still paid. I may add however, that by an arrangement which came into force at the beginning of this year, His Majesty's Government has increased the grant-in-aid to Cyprus from the former figure of £50,000 a year to £92,800 a year, the full amount of the contribution, while the island contributes £10,000 a year towards the cost of Imperial defence. The con- sequent net saving of £32,800 a year to the Cyprus Exchequer is being devoted to improvements in the administration and to general development.

Are we to understand that the taxpayers of this country pay the whole of that £92,000 interest on the Turkish debt and the interest on these bonds?

Yes, Sir.

Is that system to endure for ever, that we are to pay the interest on the Ottoman Loan, which was guaranteed jointly by France and England?

It will not endure for ever. This amount includes amortisation.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he will give particulars of the scheme whereby a limited number of military and naval families will be offered facilities to settle on farms in Canada during the spring of 1929?

Full particulars of this scheme are given in a memorandum issued by the War Office and in an Admiralty Fleet Order, copies of which I am forwarding to the hon. Member.

What are we to understand by the term "military and naval families" used in this question?

It does not imply anything militaristic about the families.

asked the Prime Minister whether, on appointment, a Colonial Governor is required to relinquish any directorships which he may hold?

I have been asked to reply to this question. Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs what has been the expenditure of the Empire Marketing Board to date on publicity and propaganda in respect of Empire products and home products, respectively?

The expenditure incurred from the Empire Marketing Fund on publicity and propaganda from the commencement of the Board's work up to 31st March, 1928, amounts to £296,189 16s. 6d. No specific allocation is made for the advertising of produce from any individual country. The Board's policy is to create a general demand for Empire produce, including the produce of this country, and any apportionment of publicity expenditure on a territorial basis is therefore impossible.

Who decides what subjects should be advertised and what posters should be displayed?

The Board is advised by a committee containing a number of eminent business men. The names of the committee are to be found in the Annual Report.

Are any farmers represented on the committee?

Yes. British agriculture is represented.

Is there any evidence of any substantial increase in Empire trade as a result of the expenditure on advertising?

I think there is every evidence that there has been a large increase in the purchase of Empire produce.

Has there been any reduction, as far as the consumer is concerned, due to the money spent in advertising?

I think the consumer has got better quality, and an increase of Empire production tends to a reduction in cost.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that all the goods advertised are sold at the very same price as other goods which do not come from the Empire, and who is taking the profit?

I am not aware of that fact, but it does not preclude increased Empire production contributing to a reduction of price.

How can the right hon. Gentleman say that when he cannot show a single reduction? I challenge him to show a reduction on any article.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs the total annual amount of the salaries of the staff of the Empire Marketing Board?

For the financial year 1923 provision of a sum of £29,070 has been made in the Estimates of the Dominions Office for the salaries of the staff of the Empire Marketing Board. A further sum of £3,500 has been provided in the same Vote for additional assistance which may become necessary in the course of the financial year either on the staff of the Board or the Imperial Economic Committee. The cost of the staff in question will be recovered from the Empire Marketing Fund.

asked the Prime Minister whether a Report from the Imperial Wireless and Cable Conference has now been received?

No, Sir.

Can the right hon. Gentlemen say when he hopes to get the report?

I am afraid not, but I hope it will not be very long.

Can the right hon. Gentleman facilitate it?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that under Section 165, paragraph (1), of The Income Tax Act, 1918, it is possible for a person to be committed to prison indefinitely by the General Commissioners without his case being heard either by a magistrate or recorder; and can he see his way to amending the Law in this respect?

The hon. Member has drawn attention to the survival in the Income Tax law of a power which has been obsolete for many years. As he is aware, a Committee is at present engaged on the task of redrafting the law, and, pending the legislation which will follow their report, I think it is better not to attempt to remove the dead wood piecemeal.

Have these officials the power to arrest anyone for non-payment of tax?

The power exists under Section 165 of the Income Tax Act, 1918, but is obsolete and is not put into effect.

Do I understand this power has not been exercised during the last few years at all?

That is so.

If I send the hon. Gentleman particulars of two cases, will he investigate them?

Willingly.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, if he will publish the evidence submitted to the Meston Committee?

I understand that the Committee proceeded on the assumption that notes of the evidence taken would not be published. The notes, therefore, are not n a form suitable for publication.

Is the hon. Gentleman not aware that reliable evidence has been submitted to the Committee which would be of great service, and cannot he see his way to give us some of that evidence so that we may go on the right lines in regard to the education of the people?

No, I cannot.

I beg to move,

"That leave be given to bring in a Bill to make provision for a line-throwing appliance on certain ships."

"We are convinced that nothing short of the compulsory carriage of line-throwing appliances will be completely satisfactory."