asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the names of those Government Departments who purchase, lease, or adapt buildings in the country through the Office of Works; whether there are any Departments which operate in this respect independently of the Office of Works and, if so, which; and whether, in the latter case, there is full co-operation between the Department concerned and the Office of Works in the direction, if possible, of the grouping of premises and the avoidance of conflicting activities?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 17th July by the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department on behalf of the First Commissioner of Works. The Office of Works undertakes the services mentioned for all Government Departments, subject to the following exceptions: ( a ) Buildings provided from Navy, Army and Air Force Votes; ( b ) Post Office hirings under £500 per annum and sessional hirings for short periods by certain Departments, e.g., the Ministries of Health and Pensions. The Office of Works is not responsible for transactions at the expense of the Forestry Fund, or in connection with experimental stations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the corresponding Scottish Departments, or with buildings administered by the Prison Commissioners. As regards the third part of the question, there are permanent arrangements in force to secure co-ordination between the Office of Works and other Departments, and the Office of Works, in the exercise of its duties, has constant regard to the possibilities of economy that may result from the grouping of Departments in one building.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of officers of Employment Exchanges at present on sick leave owing to nervous breakdown, nervous debility, etc.?

I am unable, without making special inquiry, to say how many of the officers at present on sick leave are certified to be suffering from nervous trouble, but I have no reason to think that there is at the moment an abnormal amount of sickness amongst the staff.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the nature of the further steps taken to safeguard public funds against defalcations at Consulates, in view of the deficiencies revealed in consular accounts in recent years?

The further steps referred to in the recently published Report of the Select Committee of Public Accounts consisted in the issue of a circular despatch to consular officers detailing the various forms which defalcations might take, prescribing appropriate safeguards, and emphasising strongly the personal responsibility of the consular officer for the supervision of the accounts and of the staff employed by him on the financial transactions of his post.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will explain why, whereas all other constituent portions of the British Empire which were mentioned in the draft treaty, printed in Cmd. 3153, were given their full official title, India was referred to as such and not as the Indian Empire: and whether steps will be taken to avoid this in future?

The draft treaty enclosed by the United States Chargé d'Affaires follows the usual form agreed to at the Imperial Conference, 1926; the phrase "for India" has been regularly used since the Treaty of Versailles, and is correct.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, seeing that the present price of bread is not in accordance with the scale laid down by the Food Council, what steps he is going to take?

An announcement by the bakers' associations has appeared in the Press, that the price of bread in London is to be reduced next Monday to 8½d. a quartern loaf, which will be in accord with the Food Council scale.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if lie will consider the advisability of co-operating with the Minister of Health to issue an annual Report on the health of the merchant service, bearing in mind that the seaman's mortality from disease exceeds the average by 48.8 per cent., and his mortality from violence by 4.30 per cent.?

My right hon. Friend will consult the Minister of Health with regard to the suggested preparation of an annual Report on the health of the merchant service, and I will let my hon. Friend know the result in due course.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give figures showing the value and quantities of United Kingdom produce carried in British ships and in foreign ships, respectively; and the value and quantities of foreign merchandise carried in British ships and in foreign ships, respectively?

The information desired is not available.

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to the proceedings at a recent meeting of the Cornwall Highways Committee, on the subject of the arbitration between the Post Office and the Cornwall County Council with reference to the reinstatement of roads disturbed by cable-laying operations; if he can state the sum claimed by the county council, the sum offered by the Post Office, and the sum awarded by the arbitrator; and whether the arbitrator's award lays down any new principle?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The amount of the final claim made to the Arbitrator by the Cornwall County Council was £29,139 14s. 3d. including

( a ) £9,199 1s. 11d. already expended by them;

( b ) £7,562 15s. 2d. still to be expended; and

( c ) £12,377 17s. 2d. in respect of "consequential damages."

The Post Office submitted that the expenditure under ( a ) and ( b ) was far more than was required to reinstate the roads after their cable-laying operations, and that there was no justification for item ( c ). The sum of £5,203 5s. was offered in settlement of the whole claim. The Arbitrator awarded £9,615 11s. 10d. as the amount to be paid to the council in full settlement of their claim. The amount is in the form of a lump sum, and there is nothing in the award to indicate its composition. As far as I am aware, the award lays down no new principle. The Post Office's obligations in regard to the restoration of roads are stated in the Telegraph Acts which have been in force for many years, and no question of legal principle, new or old, came before the Arbitrator.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, as representing the First Commissioner of Works, whether his Department, in conjunction with the War Office, have given any consideration to the possibilities of the barracks at Hampton Court and the barracks on the Hampton Court green being made available for occupation by residents in the neighbourhood who are in need of housing accommodation?

I have been asked to reply, and would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 10th May last. It is not yet possible to say whether the barracks will be re-occupied for military purposes.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the amount of public money used to assist horse-breeding and the amounts allotted the different classes of horses?

The amount of public money expended in the financial year ended 31st March, 1928, for the encouragement of heavy horse breeding in England and Wales, by the award of grants to heavy horse societies was £7,239. Provision of £7,500 is made in the Estimates for the current year. I am informed that approximately £30,000 was spent by the War Office in the financial year ended 31st March last for the encouragement of light horse breeding in Great Britain, and a further £30,000 is provided for the same purpose in the Army Estimates for the current year. With regard to expenditure by the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, I would refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what vacancies there are for second-class draughtsmen (constructive department) in each of His Majesty's dockyards, respectively?

There are no vacancies.