asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has now received the views of the staff side of the Sasines Office of Edinburgh on the subject of the extension of service of officers in the Department: and whether he will take this expression of opinion into consideration in respect of possible modifications of the operation of the superannuation regulations?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, but a representation which has been received from a Staff Association on the matter will be kept in view. As regards the hon. Member's reference to modification of the operation of the superannuation regulations, I must remind him that extension of an officer's service in special cases in the public interest is provided for in the Order in Council of 10th January, 1910.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of houses built in Scotland with State assistance from 1919 to the end of 1928, by local authorities, private enterprise, and public utility companies, respectively, under each of the Housing Acts, 1919 to 1924?

The number of houses built in Scotland with State assistance from 1919 to 31st December, 1928, was as follows:in the motor trade in 1924 and 1928, respectively; the clock trade in 1924 and 1928, respectively; the musical in- strument trade in 1924 and 1928, respectively; the silk trade in 1924 and 1928, respectively; the lace trade in 1924 and 1928, respectively; and the cutlery trade in 1924 and 1928, respectively?

Separate statistics are not available in respect of the clock and cutlery industries. The following table gives the average numbers of insured

asked the Minister of Labour the average number of persons employed in insurable employment in Great Britain during 1913, 1920, 1924, and 1928, respectively?

Comparable statistics are not available in respect of the years 1913 and 1920. The average number of insured persons aged 16 to 64 inclusive in employment in Great Britain in 1924 was 9,514,000, as compared with 9,967,000 in 1928.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he can hold out any hope of the establishment of the new experimental automatic telephone exchanges in some of the villages of South-Western England?

Arrangements have already been made for rural automatic exchanges to be provided in a number of villages in South-Western England, and I hope to be able to establish others in due course.

asked the Postmaster-General whether in calculating the profit made by the Post Office, any account is taken of the value of stamps sold by the Post Office but used for receipts and other revenue purposes for which the Post Office performs no service; Whether he can give an estimate of the value of the stamps so used; and if this value is greater or less than the total profit made by the Post Office?

Yes, Sir. As shown on page 17 of the Post Office Commercial Accounts for the year ended 31st March, 1928, the gross income of the Postal Service was reduced by £2,022,448 in respect of stamps sold for Inland Revenue purposes, before arriving at the net operating profit of £8,802,986 on this service.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is now in a position to say what conclusion he has reached, as a result of the recent demonstration, on the merits of the Baird television system?

The results of the demonstration are still under consideration, and I am not yet in a position to make a statement on the subject.

asked the First Lord to the Admiralty what would be the annual total excess and extra excess costs of supplying, to the extent to which expense is at present the only obstacle, all home naval and marine personnel for one, two, three, four, five and six days a week, with rations where available solely of fresh home produce, such as milk, cheese, butter, eggs, vegetables, etc., each of these items being given separately, in addition to the total, the question of meat being excluded as already dealt with?

With the exception of milk and vegetables, which are home produce, the articles referred to are not included in the service standard ration. The men purchase such quantities of these foodstuffs as they require, to supplement the standard ration, from canteens or other sources, out of their daily messing allowance. Where they are messed on the general mess system the accountant officer purchases supplies, either from the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes or local tradesmen. In the former case, the Admiralty have no particulars of the purchases; and in the latter case such particulars as are available are not sufficient to enable anything like a reliable estimate to be given. As regards naval hospitals, the position under current contracts in regard to the items specified is as follows: Milk (fresh and condensed) and eggs are all of home

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of reserves on the books of the Admiralty as at 31st December, 1928?

The number of reserves on 31st December, 1928, was as follows:

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of officers, men and boys on the books of His Majesty's ships as at 31st December, 1928?

asked the Secretary of State for Air what would be the annual total excess and extra costs of supplying, to the extent to which expense is at present the only obstacle, all Home personnel for one, two, three, four, five and six days a week, with rations where available solely of fresh Home produce, such as milk, cheese, butter, eggs, vegetables, etc., each of these items being given separately, in addition to the total, the question of meat being excluded as already dealt with?

Of the items mentioned by my Noble Friend, cheese is the only one which forms part of the Air Force ration. In practice, however, at Home stations, it is commuted into cash, and any cheese required, as well as milk, butter, eggs and vegetables, which are not an integral part of the Air Force ration, would be purchased from the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes out of the cash allowance which is made for messing. I understand that in the main all the items mentioned are home or Empire produce.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether stock was taken in 1925 of the stores at Jamaica; how long was that before Mr. Toms was appointed to the position of foreman; and was the stock verified when Mr. Toms took up the position?

The numbers borne on 15th December, 1928—the nearest available date—were as follow:

In Ordnance stores, under the regulations, stock is taken of different articles at different dates in such a manner that every item is verified within a given period. The only definite information available in the War Office regarding the programme of stocktaking at Jamaica in 1925 relates to boots, of which stock was taken on 31st August, 1925. Mr. Toms joined the station on 12th January, 1926; and he rendered a certificate regarding correctness of stock, which is required by the Regulations from foremen on taking over charge, on 16th March, 1926.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many time-expired men served throughout the War as national reservists; and whether, as they were told by Lord Kitchener that they would be entitled to a medal and this promise was not confirmed by subsequent Secretaries of State, what steps he proposes to take in the matter?

I regret that the information asked for in the first part of the question is not available. As regards the second part, it was decided, after full consideration, not to issue a medal for home service during the War, and I cannot reopen the question.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Mr. Marsden, 145, Herbert Road, East Ham, a partially blind and deaf man, who sells flowers in the street and who, in the opinion of the guardians, earns 5s. a week in this occupation; whether he is aware that the guardians only allow this person 8s. a week relief; and whether he will inquire into this case?

The answer to the first and second parts of the question is in the negative. As regards the third part, I am debarred by statute from interfering in any individual case for the purpose of ordering relief, but I will make inquiries.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has replied to the communications he has recently received from ratepayers in Torquay with regard to the Daison housing scheme?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Secretary for Mines what amalgamations have taken place in Lancashire under the Mining Industry Act, 1926; and the percentage of output they cover for the whole of the Lancashire collieries?

Only one amalgamation, under the title of the Manchester Collieries, Limited, has been completed in Lancashire, but the group of mines involved is a large one. I am precluded by the Mining Industry Act, 1920, from disclosing the outputs of individual undertakings without the consent of their owners, but on the basis of number of workpeople employed, the proportion of the group to the whole of the Lancashire and Cheshire coalfield is 23.3 per cent.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that with the increase of passenger traffic consequent upon the extension of London northwards there is considerable congestion, especially during the rush hours, at Finsbury Park underground station, which is the terminus of two underground railways and serves a main line of the London and North Eastern Railway; and can he state what steps are being taken by the London Electric and Metropolitan Railway Companies to enlarge the passages there and provide a circulating area?

I am informed by the railway companies concerned that, although there is some congestion at Finsbury Park Station during the rush hours, it is no greater than at other stations and that they do not consider that they would, in present circumstances, be justified in incurring the expenditure that would be involved in carrying out large structural alterations at this place.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of Sir John Pringle's recent recommendation of automatic train control on railways as the only safeguard against failure of the human factor, what progress is being made by the railways in the adoption of it?

The whole question of automatic train control is under investigation by a committee, under the chairmanship of Sir John Pringle, which I appointed in November, 1927.

asked the Secretary for Mines the quantity of home-produced motor spirit of all grades and from all sources during the last 12 months, to any convenient recent date; how many plants producing it on a commercial scale are in operation; and how many are under construction or about to be commenced?

I regret that the information# asked for is not available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the amount in sterling of the total exports sent to Denmark from the British Isles for the years 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927 and 1928, and the amount of exports sent to Holland for the same period?

The following table shows the total declared value of merchandise exported from Great Britain and Northern Ireland,

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will reconsider Bailey's case (Pentonville) with a view to exercising the dispensing power of the Treasury in regard to

As I informed the hon. Member on 17th July last, this case was carefully considered on several occasions by my predecessor and considered afresh by myself. I regret that I cannot add anything to the answer then given.