asked the Secretary of State for War if he will consider the grant of a service pension under the 1914 warrant, with arrears, to William Johnson, late private, No. 502420, Labour Corps, in view of the fact that he has over 14 years' qualifying service to his credit, including service in Egypt, India, South Africa, and the Great War, and was awarded in November last a permanent disablement pension assessed at 20 per cent.?

This man was ineligible for a service pension from Army funds, as, owing to his failure when called up for service in 1916 to acknowledge a period of service in the Norfolk Regiment amounting to 1 year 308 days, this period did not count as qualifying service. Without this period his qualifying service amounted to less than 14 years. The Army Council are, however, prepared, under their discretionary powers, to allow this period to count for pension and pension will accordingly be granted in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is in a position to state approximately the amount of wheat which will be required to mill 25 per cent. of the flour used in the Army for the making of bread during a period of six months?

It is estimated that the produce of some 1,300 tons of wheat will be required under the Government's proposals in Army and Air Force bakeries.

asked the Secretary of State for War the amount of flour required for the supply of bread to troops at home which is to be limited to flour milled from home-grown wheat; whether an increase of cost is contemplated as the result of this decision; and, if so, the total estimated increase?

The Government proposal is that the flour supplied for the baking of bread for His Majesty's Forces during a period of six months after harvest should contain 25 per cent. of flour milled from home-grown wheat. It is estimated that under this proposal the minimum quantity of produce of home-grown wheat required for Army and Air Force bakeries would be about 900 tons. I am not in a position to forecast the effect of this proposal on the price of flour supplied under Army contracts.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in the event of any Territorial units being in camp at the time the General Election is held, instructions will be posted to each member of such unit who is likely to be in camp at such time, enclosing a form which he can fill in and return to the registration officer or registration officers for the constituency or constituencies in which he is registered and claiming that his name be placed on the absent voters list?

I do not think it would be practicable to provide that instructions and forms shall be posted to each member of the unit. But instructions are being issued that it shall be carefully explained to all Territorials who are likely to be in camp on the day of the Election how they can be registered as absent voters, and a stock of the appropriate form is being supplied to each unit concerned. Posters are being provided for display at the headquarters of units and detachments concerned explaining how the form can be obtained and completed.

asked the Secretary for Mines how many amalgamations have taken place under the Mining Industry Act, 1926; and if any other schemes are being prepared to carry out the objects of that Act?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave yesterday to the hon. Member for Newcastle, North (Sir N. Grattan-Doyle), of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he has had his attention called to the case of Mr. Woods, 72, Mary Street, Celfynydd, Glamorganshire, who made complete arrangements with the emigration authorities to settle on a farm in Canada with his family of wife, three boys, 21, 18 and 16, and two girls, aged 13 and 5 years of age, respectively; whether he is aware that the whole family were passed as fit by a Canadian doctor at Pontypridd on 14th March last and the family instructed on 27th March last to prepare to sail from Liverpool on 6th April; that this man and his three boys were in full employ at the Albion Colliery at the time and gave up their work and sold their home by 28th March last; that on 30th March Mr. Woods received a telegram cancelling the passage; in view of these facts will he state what steps he intends to take to indemnify this family for the cost and trouble incurred by them in this connection; and how many similar cases have been brought to his notice within the past 12 months, and what steps he is taking to rectify such administrative blunders?

I understand that this family were examined by the Canadian Government Medical Officer at Pontypridd on 13th March. The family were not accepted as the cases of two of the children had to be referred for decision to the Canadian Government's Chief Medical Officer in London. I further understand that no communication was sent to the family by the Canadian authorities which could have given the impression that they had been accepted, but that on 26th March the Society which was dealing with the case informed Mr. Woods in a letter, of which I have seen a copy, that his application had been submitted to the Canadian authorities with a view to a sailing on 6th April. The letter added that the Society could not, of course, guarantee that the family would be able to sail on that date or that their application would be accepted. It appears that the two children were subsequently found to fall within the classes who cannot be accepted as immigrants and that on 28th March a letter was received from the Director of European Emigration, London, saying that, on medical grounds, it was not found possible to accept this family for the benefit of the reduced rates. Cases of this description are, I am happy to think, extremely rare. I do not think any question of compensation can arise.

asked the Minister of Health why, in his Return of persons in receipt of Poor Law relief since March last, he has ceased to give a Return of the number of casuals in receipt of such relief; and whether he will give instructions that such figures are to be included?

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. There has been no alteration so far as casuals are concerned in the form of Returns relation to the number of persons in receipt of Poor Law relief. In Table VII of the published Quarterly Returns the number of casuals in receipt of such relief is shown for the last Friday in the quarter under review and also for the corresponding day in previous years.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has granted the request of the Warrington union regarding the relief of 6s. per week granted by the Warrington union to H. Hansford that the 41 hours' test work for the sum of 6s. should not be insisted upon, seeing that such a condition of receiving relief would in this case render it impossible for Hansford to seek work elsewhere in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Labour?

My right hon. Friend has agreed to suspend for one month disapproval of the grant of out-relief in this case. He must not, however, be taken as accepting the view that the requirement regarding test work of the Relief Regulation Order is incompatible with the requirements of the Unemployed Insurance Acts.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of able-bodied destitute poor in receipt of parish council relief from the Glasgow Parish Council and the Govan Parish Council, respectively, for the years ending March, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1929?

The following table shows the average number of destitute able-bodied unemployed relieved in the parishes of Glasgow and Govan during each of the years ended 15th March, 1924, to 1929, inclusive:—

asked the Minister of Health if he has any Reports from his medical advisers showing what are the diseases responsible for infant mortality, and which of these diseases are due to lack of sunshine and fresh air and which to other causes?

My right hon. Friend is advised that, generally speaking, infant mortality is due to three groups of ailments, (1) prematurity and allied conditions, (2) gastro-intestinal diseases and (3) respiratory diseases. Adequate sunshine and fresh air are essential to healthy development in infancy, and their absence may conduce to an increase in respiratory diseases as well as other ailments commonly associated with defective hygiene.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that, under present Regulations, taximeter cabs waiting in the London terminal stations are at liberty to accept or refuse a fare as they wish; that at Paddington Station hardly a day passes without disputes arising between passengers who arrive at that station and taximeter-cab drivers who refuse to carry such passengers to their destinations on the ground that the journey desired is not long enough or there is not sufficient luggage to make it worth their while; and that the railway police are helpless in the matter; and will he take the necessary steps, by Regulation or otherwise, to correct this annoyance to the travelling public?

The provisions of the Hackney Carriage Acts as to plying for hire relate only to public streets or roads, and the Courts have decided that these words do not include railway stations. Under the existing law, no offence is committed by a cab driver who, when waiting on railway premises, refuses to be hired. I have no information as to how far drivers take advantage of the law to pick and choose their fares at any particular station; but if I receive definite information as to the prevalence of this practice I will consider what steps can be taken.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the negotiations which have recently been going on between the Tees Conservancy Commission, the Tees Frontagers, the Middlesbrough Chamber of Commerce, and the London and North Eastern Railway Company, he can state the attitude of the Ministry of Transport if all these bodies are agreed upon the site of the proposed docks at the mouth of the Tees which the railway company has already begun?

I have no information with regard to the negotiations to which my hon. Friend refers, and am not in a position to state what my attitude would be towards a scheme of which I have not received particulars.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what quantity of petrol was imported into this country during 1928; and what proportion of that quantity was imported from the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics?

The total quantity of motor spirit (refined petroleum) imported into this country during the year 1928 was 734,738,000 gallons, of which the quantity consigned from Russia was 47,430,000 gallons, representing about 6½ per cent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade in what cases applications for Safeguarding Duties have received the support of organised labour in the industries concerned; and in how many such cases the applications have been successful?

Safeguarding applications from 18 industries have been referred to committees of inquiry. In 12 cases the application was definitely supported by trade unions, and in two further cases by employés in the industry concerned. In eight of these cases duties have been imposed, and one case is still under consideration by the committee. Only one application was opposed by a trade union, and on a second hearing it

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that, as stated

Yes, Sir. I understand that the premises in question are Crown property and are not subject to the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1909, and the Regulations made by the Secretary of State there under. I will communicate with the Air Council in regard to the safety precautions in operation in the cinema.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will consider the advisability of abolishing the seven years' limit for application as regards War pensions, or whether this limit can be removed in certain cases?

Arrangements are already in operation to deal with the few exceptional cases in which serious incapacity, genuinely caused by War service, now manifests itself for the first time.

asked the Postmaster-General if any facilities are available for holding conferences of more than two parties over the telephone; and, if so, how far have these facilities been developed?

Conference facilities over the telephone for more than two parties are available, and demands for such service can be met if suitable notice is given.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, with regard to the order placed by the Post Office for a large quantity of new telephone transmitters and receivers, he will state the number ordered; and whether the whole of these instruments are British made?

The number is 50,000, and the instruments will all be of British make.

asked the Minister of Labour in what trades the distressed miners who have been transferred to the Walworth Road (Borough) Employment Exchange are now engaged; whether all men who have been transferred have been found employment; and whether he will give particulars to date?

No detailed records of the nature of the work to which all the men transferred from depressed areas to the Borough Employment Exchange area have been sent are available, but the hon. Member may rest assured that such transfers through the Employment Exchange machinery only take place where employment is found for the men transferred.

asked the Minister of Labour what number and proportion of the persons on the live registers of Employment Exchanges in the United Kingdom are unskilled labourers; and what number and proportion are workmen skilled in road-making?

I regret that occupational statistics differentiating between unskilled labourers and others on the registers of Employment Exchanges have not been regularly tabulated, and are not therefore available. I am also unable to give the number and proportion who are skilled in road-making.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the aggregate receipts to date from German reparations?

The aggregate receipts of the United Kingdom to date in respect of German reparations (including Belgian War Debt) amount to £68,000,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the sums estimated for the following items in the new form of accounts which are to be omitted from the Estimates of 1929–30; the sums received from the sale of fee stamps; the contributions received towards the cost of teachers' pensions; the interest on the outstanding debt on the Unemployment Fund; and the cash outstanding on Government funds and certain cases specified by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his financial estimate of Tuesday, 24th April, 1928?

The amounts which would have been included on the expenditure side of the Budget for 1929 but for the accounting changes mentioned in the question are estimated at £7,700,000, namely:—