asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many persons are employed, respectively, on the temporary male and female clerical staffs in each of the Government departments in Brighton?

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1) the number of temporary female and male clerical staffs at present employed in each Government Department in Bradford;

(2) the number of temporary female and male clerical staffs at present employed in each Government Department in Birkenhead?

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

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

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of temporary female and male clerical staffs at present employed in each Government Department in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, respectively?

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

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

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

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

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

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

These particulars are not immediately available. I am having inquiries made, and will communicate the results to the hon. Members as soon as possible.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that in the case of 35 P (probationary) class clerks offered established posts in the taxes branch of the Inland Revenue Department a serious drop in pay, up to 14s. per week in some cases, is in prospect for the officers concerned; what is the reason for this when an officer is selected for exceptional promotion to an established post when the duties he will be called upon to perform will be more difficult and carry more responsibility; and whether he will rectify this hardship?

The appropriate entering salary for temporary ex-service clerks appointed to the established clerical classes of the Civil Service as a result of success in the examinations held in accordance with the recommendations of the Lytton and Southborough Committees was determined on the lines indicated in the Reports of those Committees. The whole question of the appropriate entering salary in these cases has recently been submitted to and has formed the subject of an award of the Industrial Court. The officers referred to by the hon. Member have had their entering salary, on appointment to established posts as tax clerks, determined on the same basis. Appointment to the "P" class was in general confined to temporary ex-service clerks who either failed in or did not compete at the examinations held in accordance with the recommendations of the Lytton and Southborough Committees. I see no reason Is by more favourable terms should be accorded to officers appointed to the established clerical classes after service in the "P" class than to officers who obtained establishment by success in one of the examinations referred to.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the period in all cases which unestablished officers of the Civil Service must serve to qualify for gratuity?

A minimum of seven years reckonable service is necessary if the officer is discharged in consequence of the abolition of his employment and a minimum, of fifteen years reckonable service if he retires through permanent ill-health.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the names of the owners whose trawlers have been convicted of illegal trawling during the last seven years and the number of convictions in each case?

The names of the owners are not recorded in cases where skippers of trawlers are convicted of illegal trawling. The information requested in the question is not, therefore, in the possession of the Fishery Board, but I will consider whether a statement covering a period of years can be obtained without a disproportionate amount of labour.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that the Board of Agriculture for Scotland are demanding payment of £374 from the owners of the farm of Culreoch, Wigtonshire, on account of the Board's advance to a smallholder who has renounced his holding, the holding being one of five acres and the rent £6; and if he will inquire into this case?

I find on inquiry that this is a case where the Board of Agriculture for Scotland, in giving their consent to the renunciation of his holding by a landholder, are taking steps to conserve their rights to the repayment of an advance made by them to the holder. The action taken is in accordance with the terms of the Statute under which the rights of the landlord are also protected.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what attitude was taken, and reply given by him, to the offer made by the proprietor of Scaristaveg to the Scottish Office to give small holdings on that farm to Neil Macdonald and Ewan Maclennan?

During negotiations the proprietor suggested that the proposed new holdings should be balloted for by applicants, including raiders. 1 refused to entertain the suggestion that raiders should be included, and the applicants referred to were accordingly excluded.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Anglo-Scottish Beet Sugar Corporation, Limited, at the Prestonfield factory, Cupar, Fife, is refining foreign raw sugar and placing it upon the market in competition with the product of the home refiners: and whether he will make it a condition of receiving the subsidy that a factory shall only refine home-grown sugar?

I have been asked to reply. I understand that the Anglo-Scottish Beet Sugar Corporation, Limited, at Prestonfield Factory, Cupar, has refined certain quantities of foreign raw cane sugar, and I assume it will be placed upon the market in competition with other cane and beet sugars refined in this country and abroad. The payment of subsidy in terms of the British Sugar (Subsidy) Act, 1925, is confined to sugar manufactured in Great Britain from home grown beets, and accordingly no subsidy is payable in respect of sugar refined in this country from material imported from abroad. The beet sugar manufacturing season is a short one. I cannot accept the suggestion that it should be a condition of receiving the subsidy that a factory shall refine only home grown sugar, and in any event I am precluded from imposing such a condition by the provisions of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the Report he has received on post-operation tetanus; and what action he proposes to take?

Action is being taken to secure the addition of surgical catgut to the Schedule to the Therapeutic Substances Act, 1925.

asked the Minister of Transport in view of the difference of practice between the four British railways and between British and successful American railways, whether he will ascertain from the railway authorities if they will assist and welcome an inquiry before which all classes can give evidence in regard to all questions bearing on more efficient and economical means of getting the best results out of the personnel and material and rewarding merit and valuable suggestions?

This matter is one to which the railway companies have, I believe, given considerable attention, and I am not clear that so far as they are concerned any advantage would be gained from setting up any formal inquiry into the subject. I will, however, bring the hon. and gallant Member's question to their notice.

asked the Minister of Transport by whom, and under what statutory authority and arrangements, the new Eastern Avenue, forming part of the Southend Road, was constructed; who is responsible for the lighting of this avenue; and how such responsibility arises?

The road referred to was constructed by my Department by agreement with the Essex County Council under the powers conferred by the Development and Road Improvement Funds Act and the Unemployment Relief Works Act. The Borough Council of Ilford and the Urban District Councils of Wanstead, Romford and Dagenham are the only authorities who can, if they so desire, light the sections of the road within their respective areas.

asked the Minister of Transport, for 1913–14 and 1921–22 to 1925–26 the amounts of the grants to local authorities in England and Wales in respect of the classification grants for Class I and Class II roads in London and county boroughs and the grants for the maintenance of scheduled roads in county districts?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 16th July which contained the information he desires, in so far as it is available.

asked the Minister of Health whether any inquiry has been held into the death of Kathleen Merrison, of Wereham, Norfolk, who was taken ill on the 11th day after vaccination and died of sleepy sickness at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, on 6th July; that another child in the same district, Doris Griggs, is also a victim of sleepy sickness following vaccination; and whether there have been any other similar cases in Wereham and West Dereham?

Inquiries have been and are being made by medical officers of my Department as to the circumstances associated with the illness of the two children in question. Two other similar cases have occurred in Wereham, but I have no information respecting any such case in West Dereham.

asked the Minister of Health how many death certificates, on which the words "vaccination" or "vaccinia" appeared, have been received this year from medical practitioners or coroners; in how many other cases death followed closely after vaccination; and in how many of the death certificates in which vaccination was mentioned was meningitis, encephalitis, or any other form of nervous trouble mentioned?

The answer to the first and third parts of the question is that 11 certificates, on which the words "vaccination" or "vaccinia" appeared, were received in respect of the period from 1st January to 30th June, and on six of these certificates some form of nervous disease was entered. As regards the second part of the question, I am aware of 10 such instances.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that great apprehension is felt by Poor Law Guardians owing to the increasing tendency among the poorer members of the community to obtain exemption from vaccination against small-pox; and whether he will consider the desirability of withdrawing the present facilities for exemption and insisting upon the vaccination of infants unless there is some special reason for exemption?

I have received resolutions to the effect stated in the first part of the question. As regards the second part, the matter will be considered in connection with the report of the Committee on Vaccination.

asked the Minister of Health, for the latest available year the voluntary associations which receive percentage grants in respect of the following health services, namely, maternity and child welfare, welfare of the blind, venereal disease, and mental deficiency; and the amounts paid to each such association?

The preparation of a detailed list of the grants paid to each voluntary association in the country would involve an expenditure of time and labour which I do not think would be commensurate with the result attained. For the information of the hon. Member, a statement is being prepared showing the amount of grants paid to voluntary associations in respect of each county or county borough area and will be forwarded to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Health if he has received complaints from residents in the neighbourhood of the Melton Cement Works, East Yorkshire, as to the emission of dust and grit from these works; whether he has information showing that the inhalation of this substance is injurious to health; and if he will cause an inquiry to be made?

Complaints have been received and investigated. The local Council has also taken action. I have no evidence that injury to health has been caused in this case. I am informed that the firm are experimenting with plant to prevent the trouble, and the conditions will be investigated again at an early date.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has received complaints from the local authorities regarding the injurious effect on localities where artificial silk is manufactured; and what action has been taken on these complaints?

I have received complaints from local authorities as regards two cases, one relating to smells, the other to river pollution. In the former, the council was informed that the general question was under investigation; in the latter, an inquiry is being held in the application of the council for consent to take proceedings.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has sanctioned the use of ground, near Salter's Avenue, Haughton-le-Skerne, Darlington, as a tip for night soil and other refuse; and, if so, whether he is aware that it is both a danger and nuisance to people living in the neighbourhood; and will he take immediate steps to secure its discontinuance?

I cannot find that the use of this ground has been sanctioned by me, but I will make inquiries on the matter.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will appoint a com- mittee to inquire into the administration of health services in Wales, with a view of delegating to the Welsh Board of Health a larger measure of authority than that Board now possesses?

No, Sir. I may refer the hon. Member to the statement which I made in the House regarding the Welsh Board of Health on 1st August.

asked the Minister of Health the total amount of the debt of the Erith Urban District Council; the amount of new loans sanctioned during the past two years; and the average rate of interest charged?

The total of loans outstanding at the end of March last was £723,000. Loans sanctioned from March. 1926, to March, 1928, amounted to £212,000. I have not comprehensive information on interest paid, but the rate paid on four loans for which I have particulars was 5 per cent.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has received representations that every panel doctor should be compelled to instal a telephone so as to facilitate calls made in cases of urgency by health insurance patients;, and, if so, will he give the matter consideration with a view to seeing that the suggestion is put into operation?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I have, however, no power to require insurance practitioners to instal telephones as suggested.

asked the Minister of Health for 1913–14 and 1921–22 to 1925–26 the amounts of the following grants to local authorities in England and Wales: assigned Revenue grant; grants under the Agricultural Rates Acts, 1896 and 1923: and percentage grants in aid of the following health services; tuberculosis, maternity and child welfare, welfare of the blind, venereal disease, and mental deficiency?

asked the Minister of Health the total grant allotted to all administrative counties outside London?

On the basis of the figures for 1926–1927 which have been used for the purpose of the illustration in the White Paper, it was estimated that the grants to administrative counties, excluding London, will amount to £26,700,000.

asked the Minister of Health the amount of the uniform grant per head of actual population allotted to each county borough and urban district council, and the amount of the uniform.

The following statement gives the particulars asked for by the hon. Member:

grant per head of actual population allotted to each rural district council to which reference is made in Command Paper 3134?

The distribution of grant to county boroughs is not on a basis of a uniform sum per head of population. The uniform grant per head of population ascertained as explained in paragraph 24 of the White Paper applies only to non-county boroughs, urban and rural districts. For the purpose of the illustration in the White Paper, the uniform grant to borough and urban district councils was estimated at 150 pence per head, and the grant to rural district councils at 30 pence per head of population.

asked the Minister of Health the total assessable value in each county borough and administrative county in which new valuation lists under the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925, come into operation on the 1st April, 1928,

asked the Minister of Health if he will present a Return showing the loss of rates to local authorities due to derating of plant and machinery under the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925?

The information on which any such return could be based is not available.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that a dangerous structure notice has been served in respect to the Western Ophthalmic Hospital, Marylebone Road, London; that 24 hours was given in which to begin pulling down one portion of the building; that the building is 'likely to collapse as the demolition proceeds; and that an amount of £23,000 has been subscribed by voluntary contributions towards the cost of a new building estimated at £35,000: and, in view of the

and the amount of the assessable value at the last preceding date?

The following statement gives the desired information in the cases in which it is available in my Department:

fact that the hospital received nothing from public funds, if he will consider the possibility of making a grant?

I have seen Press reports to the effect stated in the first four parts of the Question. I have no funds at my disposal for the purpose of making grants in aid of expenditure on building by voluntary hospitals.

asked the Minister of Health the number of persons in receipt of parish relief in the towns of Devonport and Plymouth, respectively, specifying the various categories, during the month of July, 1928?

The following statement shows the numbers of persons in receipt of Poor Law relief on Saturday, 21st July, 1928, the latest date for which figures are available:

asked the Postmaster General the cost of erecting in Llangynidr a public automatic telephone box similar to those being erected in towns; what is the cost of erecting such call boxes in the country in general and in rural districts, respectively; what is the present deficit on the telegraph and telephone facilities in Llangynidr; and what is the minimum charge for which these facilities will be continued?

The cost of maintaining at Llangynidr a public telephone kiosk of the standard type, with coin box working, would be £20 a year. The cost of similar kiosks in other places depends on the local circumstances, especially on the distance of the kiosk from the telephone exchange to which it has to be connected. The present deficit on the telegraph office at Llangynidr is about £20 a year and the deficit on the telephone call office is £13 a year. I do not propose to reopen the telegraph office, which is not justified; but the telephone call office, from which telegrams can be dictated, will be continued if a guarantee is forthcoming to pay one-third of the telephone deficit.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will withhold any final decision as to the allowance or disallowance of the Kenya Native Land Trust Ordinance until an opportunity has been given to this House in the course of the next Session to consider its terms as finally drafted?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I made on this point to the right hon. Member for Derby (Mr. Thomas) in the course of the Debate on the Colonial Office Vote on 13th July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any attempt is made to link up the work of the British college for tropical science at Trinidad with the American school of tropical medicine of the University of Porto Rico?

The reply is in the negative, but through the generosity of the Rockefeller Foundation the Governing Body of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture were able to appoint a professor of sanitation and hygiene in 1925. This officer was selected by the director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, with which he maintains close touch. It is now proposed that a close liaison shall also be established with the Colonial Medical Research Committee and that his duties shall be extended in the light of experience gained in recent years. The main object of the appointment is to impart to the students at the college a knowledge of sanitation and hygiene which will prove of value to them in the countries to which they ultimately proceed and also to the people among whom they will work.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he has received representations from the Mining Society in Cornwall as to pressing forward with the work of the cataloguing of abandoned mines; and whether he has received information as to the prospect of the recent opening up of tin mines in Cornwall?

The answer to both parts of the question is in the negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of money paid in old age pensions from the coming into operation of the scheme until the close of the last financial year?

The total payments in respect of old age pensions from 1st January, 1909, to 31st March, 1928, amounted approximately to £363,627,000, of which £360,623,000 was in respect of pensions under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1924 (including Blind Persons pensions and pensions to persons over 70 by virtue of the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, 1925); and £3,004,000 in respect of contributory old age pensions to persons between 65 and 70 years of age.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has reached a decision in connection with the claim by Mr. George Joynes, 35, Fitzwilliam Street, Barnsley, Yorkshire, for an old age pension at 65 years of age which has been under consideration for some considerable time?

Mr. Joynes was notified on the 1st instant that he had been awarded an old age pension. According to the records of his approved society he had not been insured for five years, and considerable inquiry was necessary before it was ascertained that he had had a previous period of insurance and was entitled to the benefits of the Prolongation of Insurance Act in -respect of that insurance, which resulted in the two periods of insurance being linked up and the statutory conditions being satisfied.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the net receipts of Customs and Excise for the year ended 31st March, 1928, in respect of beer, homemade spirits, foreign and Colonial spirits, wine, liquor licences, monopoly value, and Club Duty?

The net amount of Customs and Excise revenue derived from beer, home-made spirits, imported spirits, wine, liquor licences, monopoly value and Club Duty, during the year ended 31st March, 1928, was as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any negotiations, and, if so, of what nature, are in progress for the settlement of the Nanking trouble; whether any negotiations respecting the remodelling of the control of the British Concession at Tientsin are proceeding or what is the present position on this issue; and whether His Majesty's Government have made any recent suggestions to the Nationalist Government on the subject of the application of the Boxer indemnity?

Negotiations are now proceeding for a settlement of the Nanking incident. As I stated in the course of the Debate on 30th July, I am prepared to accept a settlement on the terms already reached with the United States Government. Recently the Municipal Regulations at Tientsin have been altered so as to place Chinese and British on an equal footing in the Concession as regards franchise and constitution of the Council. No further negotiations are for the present in progress on this subject. The reply to the third part of this question is in the negative, and I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Captain Crookshank) on 4th July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has received from the British Minister at Peking any information, and, if so, of what nature, regarding the reported intention of China to resume, or negotiate for the resumption of, tariff autonomy?

His Majesty's Minister has reported that a Treaty on the subject of tariff autonomy, the text of which has been published in the Press, was signed by the American Minister in Peking and the Chinese Minister of Finance on 25th July and that he has been sounded by the Nationalist Government as to the possibility of His Majesty's Government entering into negotiation for the conclusion of a similar Treaty.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department. as representing the First Commissioner of Works, if he will lay upon the Table of the House a copy of the Hyde Park Regulations which came into force on 27th December last?

The Regulations in question were laid upon the Table of the House for 21 days at the end of last year, and a copy is available in the Library.

asked the Home Secretary the number of metal grinders discharged in consequence of failing to pass a medical test in accordance with the Statutory Rules and Orders, 1927, No. 380, in respect to the Metal Grinding Industries (Silicosis) scheme, for the periods June, 1927, and from July, 1927 to 21st July, 1928; the number of cases in respect of which compensation has been paid under the scheme from 1st July, 1927, to 30th June, 1928; and the amount of compensation paid from 1st July, 1927, to 30th June, 1928?

No medical test for employment is imposed by this scheme. I understand that workmen employed by certain firms in these industries have been required by their employers for the purposes of insurance to pass a medical examination, and that some of them who failed to pass have been discharged, but I have no information as to the number affected. The returns for the year 1927 show that during the period 1st July to 31st December, 1927, there were seven cases under the scheme in respect of which £76 9s. was paid in compensation. No particulars are available for the period 1st January to 30th June, 1928: these will be included in the returns for the current year.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the possibility of large numbers of persons claiming Poor Law relief on account of the failure of their former employers, through liquidation or bankruptcy, to pay compensation under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1925, and to the fact that the payment of lump sums, with which workmen and employers are now allowed to commute or settle claims for compensation, frequently results in such sums being expended by the workmen in a short period of time, thus necessitating the granting of Poor Law relief in large numbers of cases permanently, owing to the incapacity for work caused by the accident; and whether he will accordingly consider amending the Workmen's Compensation Act to the effect that it shall be compulsory for every employer to insure all workmen in his employ in an independent approved insurance company and that claims shall not be settled for lump sums?

I have received .a resolution from various boards of guardians drawing attention to the possibility mentioned in the first part of the question and urging that insurance should be made compulsory; but it has not been accompanied by any evidence of actual cases, and, as indicated in my replies of 22nd May and 23rd July to the hon. Members for the Gower and West Rhondda Divisions, I am not in a position to promise legislation with that object. The question of prohibiting lump-sum settlements was fully considered by the Holman Gregory Committee, but they rejected the suggestion for the reasons indicated in paragraph 83 of their Report; and no facts have since been brought to my notice to show that the question calls for reconsideration at the present time. I may add that during the passage of the Workmen's Compensation Bill of 1923 no Amendment to prohibit lump-sum settlements appears to have been moved from any quarter.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office how much money was paid into the Army, Navy, and Air Force Insurance Fund during the War; how much was paid in benefits during the same period; and how much was transferred to other insurance funds?

I have been asked to reply. I will have a statement prepared and forwarded to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the employés engaged at Waltham Abbey have been paid for the day in January last when they were prevented from working because of the River Thames flood, seeing that the old rule of the War Department allowed for such payment

Workmen employed at the Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey, who were prevented from working on 4th January, 1928, because the factory was closed on account of floods, were not eligible under the Regulations for any wages for the time so lost. It has been decided, however, as a special case, in view of the somewhat exceptional features obtaining, to authorise pay at half-day work rate for the day in question, except in cases where it is clear that on account of sickness or other cause the man could not have been present even if the factory had been open. An announcement of this concession has been made to the Trade Union Side of the War Department Industrial Council, of which the hon. Member is Vice-Chairman. Effect has already been given to the decision: the men received the money last week.

asked the Secretary of State for War the total cases of encephalitis lethargica (sleepy sickness) per 10,000 of British troops for the last 10 years; how this rate compares with that of the civilian population; and the annual rate for those quartered at home during the War years?

The number of cases of encephalitis lethargica (sleepy sickness) among the troops at home and abroad and the ratio per 10,000 for the period 1921–1927, the only years for which figures are available, was as follows:

I am informed that for the same period the incidence of this disease among the civil population in England and Wales was:

asked the Minister of Labour the number of people, specifying men, women, boys and girls, on the Devonport Employment Exchange for the month of July, 1928, and the corresponding figures for Plymouth?

The following table gives the number of persons on the Registers of the Devonport and Plymouth

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that the necessary labour for the new Sutton to Wimbledon railway is being recruited by the contractors outside the district; and whether, in view of the number of suitable persons registered at the local Employment Exchange, he can make representations to the contractors as to the desirability of employing local labour?

I have no official information as to the source from which labour for this contract is being obtained. An endeavour will be made to secure the engagement of suitable local labour or of

Employment Exchanges at the beginning of each week in July, 1928:

labour from the depressed mining areas, but, as the hon. Member will appreciate, it rests in the discretion of the contractors, to decide whom they will engage.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of men and women, respectively, unemployed in each county burgh, royal burgh, and administrative county in Scotland from 1924 to 1927, inclusive?

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 1st August, 1928; col. 2212–4, Vol. 220] supplied the following Table:

asked the President of the Board of Trade the amount of money which was received from stockbrokers as half the commission paid for the sale of enemy property and credited to public funds?

The total amount of money received from stockbrokers as half the commission paid for sale of enemy property and credited to public funds while the Public Trustee was acting as custodian of enemy property was £52,689 13s. 8d.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what were the total values of exports of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, the United States, and Canada in 1880, 1900, 1913, and 1927, respectively, with the percentage increases between 1880 and 1927; what were the figures and percentages of exports of manufactured goods for the same countries in the same years; and, if the figures for 1927 are not obtainable, what are the returns for the latest completed year?

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 31st July, 1928; col. 1936, Vol. 220], supplied the following statement: a ) the total exports of domestic produce and manufacture and ( b ) the exports of such articles which were wholly or partly manufactured. The range of articles included in the category of wholly or partly manufactured, varies somewhat according to the classification adopted by the country concerned. Figures based

Notes on the Preceding Table.

(1) The values shown under (

"Articles wholly or mainly manufactured" (United Kingdom);

"Objets fabriqués" (France);

"Fabrikate"—old classification—and "Fertige Waren"—later classification (Germany);

"Manufactures for further use in manufacturing, and manufactures ready for consumption" (United States);

"Produits fabriqués " (Belgium), and as

"Manufactures" (Canada).

(2) The sterling equivalents of the values shown have been calculated at the same rates of exchange for all years except that the figures for 1927 relating to France and Belgium have been converted at the average rates quoted in that year.

(3) The information available for 1927 covers the present territories of the several countries. These differed from the territories covered by the figures for earlier years in the case of each of the European countries dealt with. Luxembourg formed part of the German Customs Union in earlier years and of the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union in 1927.

(4) The figures for the United Kingdom for the year 1880 do not include the value of new ships and boats, particulars of which were not recorded in that year. The value of new ships and boats exported in 1927 was £4,600,000. The percentage increase from 1880 to 1927, excluding this sum, was 216 for total exports and 183 for manufactured exports. Except in respect of this item the figures cover throughout the same classes of goods exported.

throughout on a uniform classification are not available.

In the figures relating to Germany the figures for 1880 exclude, while figures for subsequent years include, the value of ships exported and also the value of the "Improvement Trade" for Home Account. Except in this respect, the figure given for 1913 in respect of manufactures exported have been compiled so as to represent the same categories of goods in those for earlier years. The figures given for 1927 represent a classification of goods differing in certain respects from that covered in the other years. The figure for 1913 corresponding to the classification used for 1927 is £331,700,000.

The Canadian figures are inclusive of exports of gold and silver obtained directly from mining operations in that Dominion. The data officially published for 1927 include, with other manufactures, manufactures of food and drink. So far as possible, such items have been excluded from the figures shown in the table, so as to render them comparable with the data for earlier years.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantities of the imports, exports, and re-exports of the various classes of manufactured goods which are now subject, on import, to safeguarding or other duties during the years 1924, 1925, 1926, and 1927, and for the first six months of 1928?

The following statement gives the information for which the hon. Gentleman asks:

STATEMENT showing, in respect to the undermentioned articles and for the period stated, the Quantities of the Imports into, and the Domestic Exports and Re-exports from, Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

General Notes: —

1. The records of total imports and re-exports exclude transhipments under bond.

2. Another factor affecting comparisons of recorded imports before and after the imposition of duties is that imports by parcel post are excluded from the totals for individual items unless subject to duty.

3. The figures for 1927 and 1928 are provisional.

4. Figures of imports, exports and re-exports of goods subject to Key Industry Duty are not available.