asked the Under-Secretary of State for India the number of mill workers now on strike in Bombay; and whether he will inform the House of the grievances leading these men to come out?

According to Reuter, the numbers on strike on 2nd May were 150,000. The grounds alleged by the Girni Kamgar Union, which called the strike, are victimisation of their members and refusal of the Millowners' Association to redress grievances.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether the Government expect to be able to make an announcement in the House regarding the possible extension of the life of the present Indian Legislative Assembly and provincial legislative councils before the Dissolution?

I think it improbable that I shall be in a position to make any announcement before the Dissolution.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether any contract has yet been made by the Government for the operation of a subsidised air service from Karachi to Delhi; and whether the subsidy to the company operating this route will constitute the total subsidy by the Government of India to civil aviation in India?

The Government of India have called for tenders for the operation of a subsidised air service from Karachi with an eventual extension to Calcutta. My Noble Friend has not yet heard officially that a tender has been accepted, but reports to that effect have appeared in the Press. The subsidy to the company operating this, route will for the time being be the only subsidy paid to an aviation company by the Government of India; but they have also assisted the development of civil aviation, by grants to aeroplane clubs, by a scholarship scheme for the training of selected Indians in civil aviation, by substantial contributions to the cost of the Imperial airship scheme, and by the grant of free facilities for five years to Imperial Airways at the Karachi civil aerodrome, in connection with the operation of the London-Karachi air service.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of the educational work being done by the Old Vic theatre in the presentation of Shakespeare and opera, he will make a grant to the fund which is being raised to restore and establish Sadler's Wells theatre as a similar cultural centre in North London?

I am afraid that I have no power to make a giant to this fund.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will give the figures showing the number of men in employment in each of the Royal dockyards for each quarter since October, 1928?

The figures required to supplement those given in reply to the question of the hon. Member on 16th November, 1928 (OFFICIAL REPORT, columns 1257–8), are:

—	January, 1929.	April, 1929.
Portsmouth	10,691	10,525
Devonport	10,125	10,526
Chatham	7,284	7,563
Sheerness	1,803	1,856
Pembroke Dock	48	64
Rosyth	194	198

asked the Minister of Agriculture what contributions towards the expenses will be made by persons who make use of the quarantine station which is being erected at East India Dock, London, through which it is intended that pedigree stock will pass immediately before shipment to the Dominions?

I have been asked to reply to this question. Persons intending to pass pedigree stock through the quarantine station are required by the regulations to pay the care and maintenance charges for their stock for the 14 days of quarantine. These charges are £3 per head for cattle and £1 per head for sheep and pigs. They are also required to pay an entrance fee of £2 10s. per consignment. This fee is payable to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and is to reimburse that Department for the cost of the preliminary veterinary inspection which normally takes place on the farm. A transfer fee of 5s. per head is also charged to cover the transport of cattle from the dock to the cargo boat.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the approximate number of persons, administrative and manual, employed by the various Government Departments for the financial year ended March, 1929?

The following table shows the numbers of Government staffs serving on 1st January, 1929, which is the latest date for which particulars are available.

Industrial Staffs		120,837
Non-Industrial Staffs:
Manipulative Staff (mainly Post Office)	177,578	302,140
Messengers, Porters, etc.	16,628
Typing Grades and Writing
Assistants (Women)	12,456
Administrative, Executive, Clerical	95,478
Professional, Scientific and Technical Staffs and Inspectorates
Total		422,977

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of Safeguarding applications received up to the latest date available; the number referred to committees; and the number of duties imposed as a result?

Forty-five industries have made Safeguarding applications, two of which are in abeyance. Applications from 18 industries were referred to committees; nine Safeguarding duties have been enacted, and one case is still outstanding. In four further cases duties were imposed in Finance Acts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the latest statistics relating to exports of the hosiery trade, giving, if possible, the figures for the last six months as compared with the corresponding period for 1927–28?

The total value of hosiery (stockings and hose, underwear and fancy hosiery) manufactured in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and exported during the six months ended 31st March, 1928 and 1929, amounted to £3,491,000 and £3,358,000, respectively. Details of the exports of the various descriptions of hosiery are given on page 159 of the monthly "Accounts relating to Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom."

asked the President of the Board of Trade the nature of the trade between Great Britain and Sweden during the past two years?

The following table shows the total declared value of merchandise imported into and exported

Description.		1927.	1928.
		£'000.	£'000.
Imports: Total of which—	…	25,259	22,045
Food, drink and tobacco	…	4,095	Not yet available.
Raw materials and articles mainly unmanufactured	…	13,466
Articles wholly or mainly manufactured	…	7,683
Exports of United Kingdom Produce and Manufactures; Total Of which—	…	9,654	9,715
Food, drink and tobacco	…	606	Not yet available.
Raw materials and articles mainly unmanufactured	…	2,123
Articles wholly or mainly manufactured	…	6,782
Exports of Imported Merchandise: Total Of which—	…	1,029	1,243
Food, drink and tobacco	…	279	Not yet available.
Raw materials and articles mainly unmanufactured	…	483
Articles wholly or mainly manufactured	…	267

Detailed particulars of our trade with Sweden in 1928 have not yet been fully ascertained. The information with respect to 1927 is, however, shown on pages 155 to 160 of Volume IV of the "Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom" for that year. Among the principal articles imported and exported were the following:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any decision has been arrived at with reference to the classification of films imported into Great Britain; and whether, in any new regulations

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to his supplementary question on this subject on 1st May.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has yet heard from His Majesty's Consul at Lisbon as to when it may be expected a reply will be received from the Portuguese Government regarding the case of Mr. A. J. Brewer?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information in his possession as to the present prices of food and other necessaries charged by the co-operatives or State shops in the Soviet Republic as compared with the prices of the same articles ruling in Russia in 1913?

The Foreign Office have no responsibility for the prices which are here quoted, but they have in their possession the following figures which are taken from official Soviet sources of information.Prices ruling in the State and co-operative shops of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December, 1928.

TABLE "A."
—		Pre-War.	Co-operative and State shops (1928).
Butter	…	11¼d. per lb.	2s. 1d. to 2s. 6d. per lb. in very limited quantities, or often not to be had at all.
Eggs	…	½d. each	1½d.–1¾d. in limited quantities.
Black bread	…	¾d. per lb.	1d. per lb. in very limited quantities. Card system. Anything over quantity allowed is double price.
White flour	…	1d.–1¼d. per 1b.	2¾d. per lb. (2½ lbs. once a fortnight).
Milk	…	4d. per litre	9d.–10d. per litre of very inferior quality and in limited quantities.
Sugar	…	3¼d.–4d. per lb.	7d. per lb.
Herrings	…	¾d.–1¼d each	7½d.–1s. 1d. each.
Kerosene	…	1d. per lb.	3d. per. lb. Long queues and not always obtainable.
Printed calico	…	1¾d.–2d. per arshine (28").	1s. 5d.–1s. 7d. per arshine.
Wood	…	£2 10s. per 7 cubic feet	£16 per 7 cubic feet of green wood. Seasoned wood impossible to obtain.

TABLE "B."Taken from the "Economic Life" of 20th April, an official organ of the Soviet Government, gives the index figures of retail prices of various commodities in the State and co-operative shops on 1st April, 1929, as compared with the prices ruling in 1913.

All-Union Index of Retail Prices on 1st April, 1929.
Index (prices 1913=1).
	State and Co-operative Trade.
General Index	1.92
(a) Index Agricultural goods	1.91
(b) Index Industrial goods	1.92
Bread	1.79
Vegetables	2.62
Meat	1.94
Dairy produce	2.45
Fish	1.79
Salt	1.56
Tea	1.95
Tobacco	2.03
Textiles	2.06
Footwear	2.00
Paper	1.71

asked the Minister of Pensions the reasons why John James Little, late King's Own Scottish Borderers, who was wounded by gunshot during the Great War, had his pension reduced from £1 16s. 3d. to 8s. per week, although he was successful in winning his case before the appeal tribunal; whether he is aware that he has been refused treatment for his disabilities due to War services, and is now lying in bed in an institution under the control of the board of guardians in Glasgow; and if he intends taking any action in the matter?

The Alternative Pension which was at one time in issue to Mr. Little had to be withdrawn because it was found after prolonged medical examination and treatment that any loss of earning capacity sustained by him was not the result of his War service or the disabilities thereby sustained, Mr. Little is now in receipt of a pension of 12s. a week, not 8s. as stated by the hon. Member, and his present condition has been medically found not to be due to his War disabilities, which do not call for any special treatment from the Ministry.