asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether any, and, if so, what, instructions have been issued, or are proposed to be issued, to pension officers limiting their discretion to appeal, or to refrain from appealing, against awards of old age pensions committees?

The instructions in force allow full discretion to the local officers as regards appeals, and it is not proposed to issue any fresh instruction on the subject.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of temporary female and male clerical staffs at present employed in each Government Department in St. Helens?

The particulars are not immediately available. I am having inquiries made, and will communicate the result to the hon. Member in due course.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of Government industrial employés in receipt of a wage of 50s. or less per week?

I am taking steps to obtain the information required, and will communicate the result to the hon. Member in due course.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can now give a reply to the Association of Ex-Service Civil Servants in respect of the matters raised by their deputation to the Director of Establishments on the 5th April, 1928?

These matters are still under consideration.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons registered as unemployed at each of the Employment Exchanges in Great Britain to the latest available date, giving the number for each Exchange separately?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount paid in unemployment benefit since the institution of such payments until the close of the last financial year?

The first payments of unemployment benefit were made in January, 1913, and the total amount paid out of the Unemployment Fund in respect of unemployment benefit from that date to 31st March, 1928, was approximately £331,000,000. In addition out-of-work donation amounting to about £62,500,000 was paid out of the Exchequer during the years 1918 to 1922. The figure for unemployment benefit includes expenditure in Northern Ireland to 31st December, 1921, and in the Irish Free State to 31st March, 1922; the figure for out-of-work donation relates to Great Britain and Ireland.

asked the Minister of Labour what number of insured workers were unemployed in the Neath area in each month from January, 1928, to the latest available date, and give the number for 30th June, 1927?

The following statement gives the information desired:

Statistics of unemployment in 653 towns in Great Britain (which include all towns with an insured population of 2,000 or more) are prepared each month and issued as a Local Unemployment Index.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed on the live register at each Employment Exchange in the county of Monmouth up to the latest available date?

The following list shows the number of persons on the live registers of Employment Exchanges in the county of Monmouth on 23rd July, 1928:

asked the Minister of Labour (1) the number of workpeople engaged in industry who are in receipt of a wage of 50s. or less per week, and also the average number of weeks per year this is paid, with the trades and industries in which they are engaged;

(2) the number of women in trade or industry with a wage of 30s. per week or less, and the trades or industries in which they are engaged?

The figures asked for are not available, but the hon. Member will find a large amount of statistical information relating to wages in the Nineteenth Abstract of Labour Statistics, which was presented to Parliament last month.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the present percentage of unemployment in the area served by the Shoreditch Employment Exchange; whether he will give special consideration in the allocation of any work that is available to the large number of men out of work in the boroughs of Bethnal Green and Poplar and the districts in the East and South-East of London?

On 16th July, the number of persons registered as unemployed at the Shoreditch Employment Exchange represented 5.9 per cent. of the numbers insured in the area. As regards the second part of the question, I would point out that my Department has no control over the allocation of work.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that Miss Kate Hampson, of 27, Langlands Road, Govan, was suspended from employment due to slackness of work on 16th June, 1928, put her books in the Exchange on 18th June, and was disallowed benefit on 26th June on the ground that she was not genuinely seeking employment; that the Court of Referees upheld that decision; that this girl had worked for two years previous to the 16th June; and whether he will have this case reviewed, in view of the girl's record?

I am having inquiries made into this case, and will let the hon. Member know the result as soon as possible; but I ought to point out that I have no power to order recommendations of Courts of Referees to be reviewed.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that Samuel Butler, 54, Harmony Row, Govan, was visited by a parish council investigator on Friday, who gave him a card to be stamped by the Employment Exchange officials to secure his Poor Law. relief; that on presentation of the card at the Exchange the officials refused to stamp it, and told him he could only get it stamped on the Thursday following, which would have meant the loss of a, week's parish money; that through the intervention of a local town councillor the Exchange ultimately stamped the card on the Friday; and that a number of complaints are being made against this practice of the local Exchange; and whether he can state under what Statute or Regulation this action is taken.?

I am having inquiries made into this case, and will let the hon. Member know the result as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Health the total number of actual occupied houses built under subsidy by the Rotherham Corporation on 5th July, 1928; the cost of erecting such houses; the average rent charged per week; and the total amount of rent arrears on the above date?

The number of occupied houses built by the local authority up to 5th July, 1928, was 1,900; the cost of erecting such houses was approximately £1,231,000; the rents charged ranged from 5s. 6d. for the smallest type of non-parlour house to 10s. 6d. for the largest type of parlour house; the total amount of rent arrears was £3,731.

asked the Minister of Health the total number of occupied houses built under subsidy by the Rotherham Corporation on 4th July, 1927; the cost of erecting such houses; and the average rent charged per week, plus the total amount of rent arrears on the above date?

The number of occupied houses built by the local authority up to 4th July, 1927, was 1,802; the cost of erecting such houses was £1,191,750; the rents charged ranged from 5s. 6d. for the smallest type of non-parlour house to 10s. 6d. for the largest type of parlour house; the total amount of rent arrears was £4,045.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the decision to continue the operation of the Rent Act, he will consider the desirability of introducing legislation to provide that, unless a landlord obtains possession of a dwelling-house by order of a court, the Rent Act shall continue to apply to the dwelling-house, in order to discourage the growing practice of owners of houses, either directly or through solicitors, exercising undue pressure upon tenants to give up possession?

The decision to continue the operation of the Rent Act unaltered for another year was due to the impossibility of finding time for an Amending Bill before December next. In any case, the particular suggestion made by the hon. Member does not commend itself to me.

asked the Minister of Health how many possession orders have been made under the Rent Acts, and the number of ejectment orders enforced, to the latest available date?

The number of possession orders made in county courts in 1927 was 17,904, and the number of possession or ejectment warrants executed was 3,294. The latest figures I have been able to obtain in respect of courts of summary jurisdiction show that in 1926 there were 5,849 possession orders made, but there are no available statistics showing how many of these orders were executed. The comparable figures for earlier years are published in the Judicial Statistics for those years. There are no means of distinguishing the cases of decontrolled houses or those outside the scope of the Rent Acts.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the woman assistant medical officer of health in Middlesbrough has stated that the increase of tuberculosis among young children in that town is approaching the condition of affairs in Vienna after the War; and whether, in view of the recent increase in unemployment, his Department can take any steps to improve the condition of child-life in this necessitous area?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, but I propose to arrange for one of the medical officers of my Department to make inquiries locally into the matter.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the case of a young person, seven years of age, suffering from the after effects of sleepy sickness, who has been transferred to a lunatic asylum; whether such action requires his sanction and what other institutions are available for such cases?

If the hon. Member will furnish me with the name of the patient and of the mental hospital, I will make inquiries and communicate further with him.

asked the Minister of Health whether Reports have been made to him regarding the shortage of water supply; and the districts from which complaints have come?

The districts in respect of which recent complaints have been received of general shortage of water supply are Blackwell Rural District, Bracknell Parish (Berkshire), Chatteris Urban District, Groombridge village (East Sussex) and Chislehurst Urban District.

asked the Minister of Health how many municipal authorities in London and in the provinces have adopted or are about to adopt sanitary refuse-collecting carts of the German or other approved type?

I understand that one London and one provincial authority have decided to experiment with the German type of vehicle, and that eight authorities outside London propose to experiment with a British type of dustless loading vehicle.

asked the Minister of Health how the grant of 31.35d. per head of weighted population (as shown in Command Paper 3134) has been calculated; and whether he will give the figures concerned?

On the basis of the figures for 1926-27, the estimated loss of rates and grants would have been £38,000,000 approximately. The total grant to be distributed under the formula would accordingly have been £14,500,000, being 25 per cent. of the estimated loss together with £5,000,000 new money. A distribution at 31.35 pence per head of weighted population was estimated to amount to £14,500,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he proposes to issue statements as to the estimated effect of the rating reform scheme in Scotland for the counties which are not covered by the tables appended to the Memorandum on the Proposals for Reform in Local Government in Scotland (Cmd. No. 3135, 1928), including the estimated figures of ratio of children, average valuation, percentage of unemployment, density of population, and actual population for each area for 1927 or any other suitable year?

Tables giving the like information as those referred to and applying to the counties referred to will be presented together to Parliament and it is hoped will be circulated shortly. It is not proposed to add the particulars mentioned in the concluding part of the question.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can give any information regarding the instructions issued by his Department to Poor Law guardians to the effect that no milk at reduced rates may be issued in future to any recipients of Poor Law relief; and whether these instructions are general or are limited to special boards of guardians?

No such instructions have been issued to Poor Law guardians.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the uncertainty which exists among panel doctors respecting the prescriptions of drugs, etc., which they consider adequate for the proper treatment of their panel patients; that this is due to the pressure of regional medical officers; and will he consider revising the financial conditions governing the provision of drugs and medicine?

The answer to the three questions of the hon. Member is in the negative. I explained the cir- cumstances in reply to a question by him on 26th July, and I regret that I can add nothing to that answer.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of impending Government legislation affecting local government and of the additional important functions intended thereunder to be performed by county councils, he will give an assurance that he will include a provision to amend the Local Government Act, 1889, in such a way as to secure that the clerk of the county council shall be appointed by the council in future instead of by the standing joint committee?

It is not intended to deal with this matter in the proposed Bill, but I understand that it is the subject of a proposed Private Member's Bill.

asked the Minister of Health why a pension under the contributory scheme has been refused to Mrs. E. Parmenter, of 4, Maryland Street, Stratford, E.15, reference number C.P. 348,541/27.

Mrs. Parmenter claimed a pension on attaining the age of 65, basing her claim on the insurance of her husband. As, however, her husband attained the age of 70 before 2nd January, 1928, she is not entitled to a pension in right of his insurance until she attains the age of 70.

asked the Minister of Health the estimated loss of rates due to the de-rating of machinery under the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925?

I have no information which would enable me to furnish the estimate asked for by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has received a petition on behalf of the inhabitants of the village of Booker, near High Wycombe, pointing out the need for a road or pathway from one side of the common to the other in order to enable children to get to school without being obliged in wet weather to trudge through mud at times six to seven inches deep and to provide facilities for residents to receive goods and attend the public offices, places of worship, etc.; and whether he will have the matter inquired into with a view to considering the advisability of a grant from the Road Fund towards the cost of making this improvement?

I have received the petition to which the hon. Member refers, and I have already been approached on this matter by my hon. Friend the Member for Wycombe (Sir A. Knox). I am afraid that the construction of a local road or pathway across a common is not a work towards which I should be justified in giving assistance from the Road Fund, but I am awaiting a report on the matter.

asked the Minister of Transport whether the freight relief to be given on 1st December, 1928, will be on a flat-rate principle of so much per ton or on a percentage principle according to the amount paid by a coal company for the carriage of coal to a public railway company?

The proposal is that the freight relief upon the selected traffics, including coal, will be on the basis of a percentage of the carriage charges.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of collieries in Mon-mouthshire that have been closed during 1926, 1927 and to 30th June, 1928; the number at present under notice for closing; and the total number at present fully or partly employed.

Three pits in Mon-mouthshire, employing 350 wage-earners, were closed during 1926 and have not since re-opened. Similarly, there were 16 pits, employing 3,860 wage-earners, closed in 1927, and 20 pits, employing 4,860 wage-earners, closed during the first six months of 1928. Ninety-one pits in Monmouthshire, employing 42,500 wage-earners are at present working either full or part time, but I regret that I have no information as to the number of pits at present under notice for closing.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether the committee appointed to inquire into the use of the guss and wheelless tubs have yet presented their Report: and whether such Report will be issued for the use of Members.

I understand that the Report will probably be presented to me about the end of next week, and I will have it published shortly after its receipt.

asked the Home Secretary why the Widows', Orphans', and Old Age Contributory Pensions Bill, 1928, which was passed by both Houses of the Isle of Man Legislature, was refused sanction on the ground of cost, seeing that no part of the cost would fall upon the taxpayers in this country.

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave him on the 19th July. My duty was not affected by the consideration mentioned.

asked the Home Secretary the number of orders approved by him under Section 2 of the Employment of Women and Young Persons and Children Act, 1920, during the three months April to July, 1928, and the number of people concerned in these orders who would be entitled to work the two-shift system.

During the months of May, June and July, I made 34 two-shift orders under the Section mentioned. The orders do not limit the number of persons who may be employed under them, but the total number, which the firms stated they expected to employ on the shifts when they applied for the orders, was 1,385.

asked the Postmaster-General what are the reasons for the closing down of the Portadown station office and the transfer of mail work to Belfast; if this transfer will involve delay in the delivery of inland mails and expense to the Post Office; and whether, seeing that the cross-Channel mails from 58 towns pass through Portadown to Belfast, and return via Portadown on their way to Dublin, involving a needless journey of 50 miles, and that Portadown by reason of its geographical position and railway facilities is not a natural distribution centre for Northern Ireland, he will have full inquiry made before completing the new arrangement?

I am having inquiry made, and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Postmaster-General if and when he is circulating to parish councils, women's institutes and other local associations, and through the Press, he will make a statement of -the new arrangements for telephone guarantees in rural areas?

I have communicated particulars of the new method of assessing rural telephone call office guarantees to the National Federation of Women's Institutes in the hope that the federation will co-operate with me in encouraging the greater use of rural telephones in the villages which have affiliated local institutes. I have also made all the railway companies acquainted with the new terms; and I have instructed the local Post Office officials to take all possible steps to bring them to the notice of local bodies and persons interested. I am further arranging for the circulation through various channels of a printed leaflet explaining the legal powers of rural district councils, parish councils and parish meetings to enter into guarantees for public telephone call offices serving their respective localities.

asked the Postmaster-General the latest available figures showing the gross receipts and the net profits accruing from working the Imperial Beam service, the Imperial cables and the Pacific Cable Board, respectively?

On the basis of current earnings, the gross receipts of the Post Office from the Imperial Beam wireless services may be put at about £470,000 a year, and the credit balance, before charging depreciation or interest on capital, at about £212,000 a year. The corresponding figures for the Imperial cables are about £143,000 and about £3,000. The Pacific Cable Board is not within my sphere of responsibility; but I understand that in the year ended 31st March last the gross receipts of the Pacific cables were £397,730 and the credit balance (before deductions for interest, capital repayment and allocation to reserve) amounted to £129,852.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the annual number of British emigrants to the Dominions and Colonies since 1920; what is the position now taken up by such Dominions and Colonies with regard to the number of emigrants admitted to their countries; and what facilities are available to each Dominion or Colony for British emigrants?

I have been asked to reply to this question. With regard to the first part of it, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to the question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Black-pool (Sir W. de Frece). The Dominions and Colonies do not limit the number or British migrants who are in a position to proceed without State assistance, and who comply with the immigration regulations of the Dominion or Colony, i.e., are physically and otherwise qualified for admission. The conditions and restrictions which govern State assisted passages are dealt with in the Report of the Over-sea Settlement Committee for the year ending 31st December, 1927 (Cmd. 3088) Section II, and particulars of the schemes are contained in Appendix III of that Report.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the delay in issuing the regulations giving the enforcement of the Weights and Measures Act affecting the measurement of milk, he is aware that much concern exists amongst the public; and whether he will state the reasons or this delay?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to the hon. Members for Central Cardiff (Mr. Lougher) and Heywood (Colonel England) on Tuesday, a copy of which I am sending him.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many dairies were summoned in 1927 for either evading the Weights and Measures Act or for supplying to the public short measure: and whether he will consider publishing the names of the offenders?

The information which the hon. Member desires could only be obtained by making special inquiry of the local authorities, and I doubt whether the expense involved in obtaining it would be justified. The publication of convictions under the Weights and Measures Acts is in the discretion of the Court.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider the appointment of a committee of inquiry into the condition of the cotton industry. in view of the difficult circumstances of the industry?

As I have frequently stated in this House, I am not in favour of appointing a Government Committee to inquire into the condition of the cotton industry. A committee organised by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce has for some time been engaged on such an inquiry, and this committee now includes representatives of the operatives as well as of the employers. Further, I understand that the movement for an amalgamation of companies in the American spinning section is making satisfactory progress.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received the resolutions directed to facilitating searches by the public through British patent specifications in the Patent Office passed by the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux at their conference at Trinity College, Cambridge, in September, 1927, and by the London Chamber of Commerce in May, 1928; and, in view of the public importance of encouraging inventions, what action does he propose to take in order to give effect to these resolutions?

I have received the resolutions referred to; considerable expense would be involved in giving effect to them, but the matter is being very carefully considered.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the cost of the collection of Income Tax in the Southampton area under the organised scheme as compared with the old method?

The cost at the present time is substantially unchanged. For reasons which are explained in the reply which I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Newton (Mr. R. Young) on 19th July last, the economies that will ultimately result can only be secured gradually. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the answer referred to.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of interest paid on the National Debt each financial year from 1914-15 to 1927-28, inclusive; and the amount of reduction or increase in the National Debt during this period, giving the total amount of the National Debt on 1st April, 1928?

A Return containing the particulars asked for by the hon. Member was ordered by the House on 10th July, and will be issued as soon as possible.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that conical enamelled electric reflectors, which are not of a description commonly used for domestic purposes, but are almost exclusively used for factory and outside lighting purposes, are being detained by His Majesty's Customs as dutiable under the Enamelled Hollow-ware Safeguarding Duties; that these goods were in no way involved in the recent Safeguarding Inquiry; and whether, in view of the inconvenience caused in the matter of trading commitments, he will state clearly what is the intention in respect of these goods?

I am not aware that the position is as suggested by the hon. Member, but if he will furnish particulars of any cases he has in mind I will have further inquiry made. As regards the last part of the question, conical enamelled reflectors for electric light are not regarded as falling within the scope of the enamelled hollow-ware duty.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the imposition of a safeguarding duty in the case of the gas-mantle industry has improved the general position of the firms engaged in the industry?

I think there is no doubt that the duty has materially assisted the industry in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in signing the League's Convention on the Abolition of Import and Export Restrictions, His Majesty's Government binds itself not to impose new tariffs or increase existing ones; and, if so, what policy will be adopted in future with regard to duties for the safeguarding of industries?

I have been asked to reply. The Convention will not impose on the contracting parties any obligations in regard to Customs duties.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether British troops are still at Tongshan; whether he can make a statement as to affairs in that region; and whether the mines and railway are working normally and satisfactorily?

The British troops sent for the protection of the mines are still at Tongshan. The latest reports show that the situation there remains quiet, but that the Northern troops occupying that area, of whom there are some 50,000, are threatened with a possible attack from the Shansi forces. Work is going on at the mines to a limited degree, but not on a full scale; railway communications are still in an unsatisfactory state and the mines suffer from transportation difficulties.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether there has been a reconsideration of the policy of discharges from the dockyard; and, in view of the complimentary remarks as to the industry and efficiency of all grades in the Chatham Dockyard which were made when the Lords of the Admiralty visited Chatham, will he give further consideration to the position?

The purpose of discharges from, and entries into, the dockyards is that the number of employés, and the proportions of the different classes, may be adjusted to the requirements for carrying out the work of the yards; there is no policy of discharges in any other sense. On the contrary, it is the Admiralty's desire to aim at as much regularity of employment as is possible under existing conditions.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been called to the fact that within the county borough of West Ham, in 78 council schools, there are 141 rooms in which it has been necessary to place two classes, although the classrooms were normally intended for one class only; and what special steps he is prepared to take, in consultation with the local education authority, to remedy this state of affairs?

Both the Board and the local authority are fully alive to this and other problems of school accommodation in West Ham, which the congested nature of the area and other local circumstances make peculiarly difficult of early solution. Steady progress is, however, being made by the local authority in the elimination of rooms containing more than one class, and in the last year or so about 20 large rooms have been partitioned so as to form rooms of the normal size in which one class only will be taught.

asked the Attorney-General whether his attention has been called to a case recently heard in the High Court when judgment was given in favour of the Attorney-General against the Birkenhead Corporation; if he is aware that, prior to the passing of the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act, 1927, it was lawful for a corporation to require a person, as a condition of employment, to become a member of a trade union; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter in view of the decision of the Judge that such a condition is unlawful?

I have been asked to reply. My hon. Friend's attention has been called to the case in question. If the hon. Member will refer to the terms of the judgment, as reported in the "Times" of the 28th of last month, he will find that the declaration was made in consequence of acts committed subsequent to the date when the Trade Disputes and Trade Unions Act, 1927, came into operation. The judgment accordingly gives effect to the provisions of Section 6 of the Statute.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India if he has any statement to make regarding the result of the representations made to the Secretary of State by a deputation from the Labour party on the question of the release of the Bengal detenus?

The Governor of Bengal made the following statement in the Bengal Legislative Council on Tuesday last:

"A year ago I made a statement with reference to detenus under restraint under the Bengal Criminal Law Amendment Act and Regulations III. I was then able to announce considerable progress in the number of men released during the first eight months of last year, and I expressed the hope that the rate of release then operating would continue. This gradual release has continued and is continuing to-day. The figures are: Jail, nil; village domicile, 8; home domicile, 4; externed from certain areas, 2; externed from Bengal, 2; total, 16. Provided that nothing unforeseen occurs, at the present rate of release now working, this number of 16 should be gradually reduced, if not completely wiped out, in the course of a few weeks."

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India the number of persons at present under detention in India under Regulation 111 of 1818?

Six persons, one of the seven referred to in my answer to the similar question put by the hon. Member for Bow and Bromley (Mr. Lansbury) on 2nd July having meanwhile been released.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India what steps have been taken to make good the fire power lost by the withdrawal of Hotchkiss guns from the cavalry in India?

British cavalry units in India are in process of being reorganised on the lines adopted at home. My Noble Friend has not yet received a final report regarding Indian cavalry units.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the reason why the non-commissioned ranks of the Trinidad constabulary are alone deprived of the privileges of the amended pensions ordinance now in force in that Colony?

The Trinidad Pensions Ordinances have never been applicable to non-commissioned officers and men of the Trinidad Constabulary. Their cases are dealt with under the Constabulary Ordinance, which provides for superannuation on a more generous scale.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what contributions are made to the revenue of Trinidad under the terms of the existing leases with oil companies operating in Trinidad; and whether it is proposed to adopt any method for obtaining in creased revenue from the oil industry of Trinidad?

As regards the first part of the question, of the Crown leases still current 162,516 acres are held on a royalty payment of 2s. per ton of oil produced, and 8,108 acres are leased under a royalty of 3s. per ton. The total royalties paid since 1914 have amounted to £314,000, while the contributions of the Trinidad Oil Companies to Government revenue, in the form of Customs, licences, Income Tax, Court fees, way-leaves and royalties, amounted to £180,000 for the year 1926. The question of obtaining increased revenue from the industry has recently been the subject of an expert inquiry which is still under consideration in the Colony.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what proportion of the capital in the Trinidad Lake Asphalt Company, Limited, which controls the output of asphalt in Trinidad, was subscribed in the United States of America?

I am aware that the company is under American control, but I have no official information as to the exact amount of capital subscribed in the United States.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he has received an Interim Report from the Standing Joint Committee on River Pollution; and, if so, whether he can make any statement as to its general trend?

An Interim Report has been received from the Standing Joint Committee on River Pollution. I hope that the Report will be on sale at an early date.