asked the President of the Board of Education whether his attention has been called to an advertisement inviting applications for appointment as a school dentist to the West Ham Education Committee at a salary of £450 a year rising by annual increments of £25 to £500; that the advertisement has been declined by three professional publications on the ground of the salary being below scale; and if he will state whether the proposed salary was authorised by his Department?

I am aware that the West Ham Education Committee propose to appoint an additional school dentist; but the circumstances referred to by the hon. Member have not previously been brought to my notice. The Board have not prescribed or authorised the salary of this or any other school dentist.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he can state on what grounds he restored to Mr. Towers a teacher's certificate in County Durham; and whether this teacher gave any guarantee not to repeat the acts which led to the withdrawal of such certificate in 1926?

Mr. Towers' certificate was restored by my predecessor with the qualification that the Board were still unable to recognise him for service in the capacity of a head teacher. I have removed the embargo on Mr. Towers' employment as a head teacher on the ground that it is time that all ill-feeling resulting from the events of 1926 should be laid to rest. I did not ask Mr. Towers for any guarantee with regard to his future conduct.

asked the President of the Board of Education (1) if, in connection with any raising of the school age, he will state the cost of any addition to existing schools required to accommodate 450,000 potential scholars who are not already on the register in this respect;

(2) the cost of annual maintenance in connection with any raising of the school age, assuming that 450,000 children would be in a position to need one year's extra training over and above those already on the register, and assuming that the weekly charge would be 5s. or 10s.?

No reliable estimate is at present available of the cost which would be involved by raising the school leaving age. Conditions vary enormously from area to area. Inquiries into the matter are being made, and the results will be considered by the Committee which has been appointed to deal with the question of the school leaving age.

asked the President of the Board of Education what proportion of children to total population enter secondary schools in the county of Kent and in England and Wales as a whole; and what is the secondary school accommodation, present and prospective, for the county of Kent and for England and Wales as a whole?

The number of pupils in grant aided secondary schools in the geographical county of Kent on 1st October, 1928, was 13,372, or 11.4 per 1,000 of the population,, in July, 1928, as estimated by the Registrar-General. The comparable figures for England and Wales whole were 393,181, or 10 per 1,000 of the population. The Board do not assign to secondary schools specifically recognised accommodation, and I am unable, therefore, to give reliable figures of the present secondary school accommodation. The proposals before the Board for the provision of new and the extension of existing secondary schools, excluding those proposals where information as to the number of additional pupils for whom provision is to be made is not yet available, will, if approved and fully carried out, result in the provision for 2,66V additional pupils in Kent and 62,929 additional pupils in England and Wales as a whole.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he will state the total number of provided elementary schools and non-provided elementary schools respectively; and the total number of scholars in provided elementary schools and non-provided elementary schools respectively?

The number of provided elementary schools on the 31st March, 1928, was 9,271, and the number of non-provided elementary schools maintained by local education authorities on that date was 11"413. The number of children on the registers during 1927-28 was 3,671,804 in provided schools and 1,939,259 in non-provided schools.

asked the Home Secretary how many local authorities for elementary education in England and Wales have made by-laws under Sections 90 and 91 of the Education Act, 1921; and how many local education authorities for elementary education in England and Wales have not made such by-laws?

309 local authorities have made such by-laws and nine have not done so.

asked the President of the Board of Education what surplus, if any, is left over from the fund opened by the Lord Mayor on behalf of distressed miners; whether at the present time any money is being distributed from this fund; and which Minister is responsible for dealing with matters concerning the fund?

The Prime Minister has requested me to be responsible for answering questions in this House relating to the Lord Mayor's Fund, which, I would remind the hon. Member, is independently administered by the Lord Mayor with the aid of a Committee appointed by him. The balance in the Lord Mayor's Fund at the present time is £742,800. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will arrange for the inclusion of fresh liquid instead of tinned milk in the decision to supply British home products to the barracks, depots, and home stations of His Majesty's Forces?

Milk is purchased regimentally from the Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes out of a daily cash allowance, and it is left to units to decide whether they purchase fresh or tinned milk, both of which are obtainable from the institutes.

asked the Prime Minister if he can state the composition of the British delegation to the forthcoming meeting of the Assembly of the League of Nations?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on the 4th of July to the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. Taylor).

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if it is the policy of His Majesty's Government to place orders for the construction and repair of naval armaments with private firms only in such cases where the work of such construction and repairs cannot be undertaken in His Majesty's naval dockyards?

Orders for the construction of warships are placed with His Majesty's Dockyards and private firms after full review, in every case, of all the circumstances. All possible consideration will be given to the claims of the Royal Dockyards. Repair of warships is now always carried out in His Majesty's Dockyards, apart from any exceptional requirement which may arise.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether his Department has received full information with regard to the earthquake shocks that have lately taken place in New Zealand; and can he give particulars as to the amount of damage or the fatalities that have been caused since the beginning of the present series of earthquakes?

Information received through the Governor-General of New Zealand shows that ,the damage caused has been confined mainly to the north-western portion of South Island Severe damage was done to buildings in Westport and Greymouth and minor damage to those at Nelson, but the full severity of the convulsions was felt in Murchison and in the sparsely populated mountainous districts surrounding it, where a landslide came down without warning, burying several homesteads and their occupants. The route through the Buller Gorge has been blocked by the landslide. The total death roll is fifteen.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is now in a position to indicate the details of any scheme which has been determined to enable ex-service men resident on the housing estate at Dundrum, county Dublin, to purchase the houses which they now occupy as tenants under the Irish Land (Provision for Soldiers and Sailors) Act, 1919?

The matter is still under consideration and I am not in a position to make any statement.

asked the Lord Privy Seal if the Government proposes to continue the existing method of employment preference to ex-service men in connection with schemes of unemployment relief; and if so, whether he will state the nature of such preference?

I have been asked to reply. Yes, Sir. It is the intention of the Government to maintain the existing preference with regard to the employment of ex-servicemen.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he can state the number of letters despatched to India by the Indian air mail route since the commencement of this service?

The number of letters sent is not recorded. The total weight of correspondence sent to India by air since the service began is about 5,000 pounds.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that nine overseers were recently passed over for promotion at Birmingham; and whether he is satisfied that the best man was selected for the higher appointment?

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

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he can state the latest figures received by the Registrar of Friendly Societies as to the number of members of trade unions in Great Britain, and the number of such members as contribute to political levies?

I have been asked to reply. The total number of members of registered trade unions in Great' Britain as at 31st December, 1927, was 3,947,192. The number of members of registered unions in Great Britain having a political fund who were contributing to that fund at 31st December, 1927, was 2,209,574. Later figures are not yet available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of " P "-class clerks employed in each Department as at 31st May, 1929; the number of promotions made to the established clerical classes up to the same date; and what number of the latter have been made through the promotions pool?

The number of " P "-class clerks employed in Departments on 1st April last, the latest date for which figures are available, was as follows:

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of P- and PU-class clerks in the Civil Service who were 45 or more years of age on 1st April, 1929?

I regret that the information desired by the hon. and gallant Member is not available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the total amount of War debt paid by Poland; the date the last instalment was paid; and the total amount outstanding?

There is no War debt of Poland to this country. Polish funded indebtedness to Great Britain is in respect of relief advances made after the War, and in respect of the cost of repatriation of Polish prisoners from Siberia. The total amount paid to date by Poland in respect of this indebtedness is £1,528,916 Is. 6d.; the last instalments were paid on the 1st July, 1929; the capital amounts now outstanding are as follows:

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any regulations are being considered to prevent shipowners selling old ships to foreign shipbreakers at scrap prices, which are then resold to foreign owners, placed on service, and run in competition on trade routes?

Schemes to regulate the sale of old tonnage have been suggested from time to time for voluntary adoption, but there is no power to make official regulations on the subject and no such regulations are being considered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any portion of the £5,000, which is being subscribed by His Majesty's Government towards the funds of the Travel Association of Great Britain and Ireland, will be allocated towards film propaganda; and whether the Government have issued any instructions on this subject?

His Majesty's Government Grant-in-Aid of the Travel Association of Great Britain and Ireland was made without any conditions. The funds of the Association will be used for propaganda and publicity work abroad at the discretion of the Executive Committee, of which Committee the Secretary of the Department of Overseas Trade is ex-officio a member, and I am sure that the question of film propaganda will not be overlooked.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he will state what is the constitution of the new Council of Agricultural Research and what are its special functions; and if the whole financial provision for the council is subject to the vote of the Indian legislative assembly?

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a Resolution of the Government of India describing the constitution and functions of the council. The answer to the second part of the question is in the affirmative. The Legislative Assembly has voted Rs. 1,40,000 to meet this year's expenses.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will state the reservations subject to which the Government of India have extended until June, 1930, the exemption of Indian emigration to Malaya from the restriction laid down in Rule 23 of the Indian Emigration Rules on the emigration of single men?

The stipulations made by the Government of India in agreeing to the extension of the exemption till June, 1930, are that the standard wage system for Indian labourers, which has been introduced in certain districts in Malaya, continues to develop satisfactorily and that the conditions of the labour industry do not tend to create unemployment among the Indian labour force.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the strike of the tin-plate workers at Jamshedpur, which began over six week ago, is still unsettled; whether he will give the number of workers involved and the cause of the dispute; and if action has 'been taken by the Government, under the Trade Disputes Act, to attempt to secure a settlement of this dispute?

The strike at Jamshedpur began on the 6th April and is still un settled. The whole of the tin-plate workers numbering about 3,000 were involved. The grievances they allege are arbitrary suspensions and transfers, failure on the part of the company to reinstate 11 discharged hands, bad treat- ment by the superintendent of the Hot mill and failure to grant a general increase of wages in the Hot mill, which increase, they say, was promised. The appointment of a Court of Inquiry or Board of Conciliation is a matter which, under Section 3 of the Trade Disputes Act, is within the discretion of the Provincial Government who have not considered action desirable.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has received an answer to the inquiry made of the Government of India concerning the rule issued by the High Court at Rangoon under the Bar Councils Act of 1926, debarring all those from practising either in the High Court or the lower courts in Burma who have not been enrolled in the Rangoon High Court; and what action the Government proposes to take concerning this rule issued by the Rangoon High Court in view of the fact that the Bar Councils Act of 1926 expressly permits advocates enrolled in the High Courts in any of the provinces of India to practise, of right, in the lower courts in other provinces and, subject to conditions laid down by the Bar Council of the High Court concerned, in the High Courts of those provinces?

I have not yet received a reply to the inquiry made by my predecessor of the Government of India on this subject, but have taken steps to expedite the matter and shall let my hon. and gallant Friend know when the information has been received.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether his notice has been drawn to the assurance given by Sir Atul Chatterjee to the International Labour Conference this year at Geneva that any draft convention of the conference on forced labour would receive the careful consideration of the more important Indian States; whether, in view of this assurance, the Government will send the draft questionnaire issued by the International Labour Office on the subject to the rulers of the Indian States and obtain their replies; and whether he will inform the House as to whether any of the Indian States have ratified any of the draft conventions of the International Labour Conference in the past?

The position of the States in regard to such conventions was fully explained in a letter from the Earl of Birkenhead to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, dated the 28th September, 1927, a copy of which I will send to my hon. and gallant Friend. I will also place one in the Library. In that letter it was stated that, although the Government of India cannot undertake to make effective in the Indian States the provisions of a draft convention ratified on behalf of British India, they will bring the convention to the notice of those States to which its provisions appear to be relevant, and will also be prepared, when necessary, to use their good offices with the authorities of such States to induce them to apply so far as possible the provisions of the convention within their territories. I propose to ask the Government of India, when they reply to the questionnaire relating to forced labour, to consider whether they can supply any relevant information in regard to the Indian States.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether retired officers of the British Army residing temporarily in India are required to pay Indian Income Tax on their pensions in addition to British Income Tax; and, if liable to Indian Income Tax, is a corresponding reduction allowed from British Income Tax?

Retired British Army officers residing temporarily in India would be liable to pay Indian Income Tax on such portion of their British pensions as they might receive in British India. Relief from British Income Tax in respect of income charged both to British Income Tax and Indian Income Tax is allowable in accordance with the provisions of Section 27 of the Finance Act, 1920.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he is now in a position to state when the R100 will make its maiden voyage?

The inflation of H.M. Airship R100 should begin towards the end of this month. Allow- ing approximately two months for the process of inflation and carrying out of shed trials, the airship should take the air about the end of September.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether there have been since 1925 any changes in the hours of work in mines in Continental countries as given in Tables 17 and 18 of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Coal Industry, 1925; and, if so, what those changes have been?

There have been the following changes in the limits of hours of work in Continental countries as given in Tables 17 and 18 of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Coal Industry, 1925: —

Table 17.— Hours of work underground .

Germany (Upper Silesia).—Hours are now 8½hours (instead of 8j hours) from descent to ascent of each man.

Table 18.— Average Hours of Work on surface.

Germany (Ruhr).—Daily hours on surface are now from 9–10 hours according to the class of worker (instead of 10 hours).

Germany (Upper Silesia).—Daily hours on surface are now from 9½–10 hours, according to the class of worker (instead of 10 hours).

asked the Secretary for Mines whether it is his intention to introduce legislation providing for the better care and treatment of horses and other animals used in coal mines, and making it compulsory that mechanical haulage shall be substituted for animal-drawn haulage where such substitution is practicable?

I have not yet had any reason to think that the present legislation dealing with the care and treatment of pit ponies is unsatisfactory, but during the visits to the coalfields which I propose to make I will bear the suggestion in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can state if Neil Macdonald and Ewan MacLennan are still on the list of applicants for small holdings; and whether, since they have not hitherto been offered small holdings, such an offer will now be made?

The names of Neil Macdonald and Ewan MacLennan were removed from the list of applicants for small holdings, but the whole matter raised in the question is at present receiving my consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can state the number of motor accidents which have occurred at Paisley Road Toll, Glasgow, since 1st January, 1928, to the latest convenient date; the number in which fatalities occurred and the number of fatalities; and the number where non-fatal cases occurred and the number injured?

From the 1st January, 1928, to the 5th July, 1929, there was no fatal motor accident at Paisley Road Toll, Glasgow; the number of non-fatal accidents was 12 and the number of persons injured 13.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will grant a Return showing the number of persons dealt with for motoring offences, together with the number of the various offences and the results of the proceedings in the courts, during the period July, 1928, to end of March, 1929?

A Return of this nature would involve considerable time and labour, and I shall be glad to discuss the matter with my hon. Friend before reaching a definite decision as to its preparation.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that a scheme has been submitted by the British Spa Federation to provide hydro-therapeutic treatment for insured persons suffering from, chronic rheumatism as an additional benefit under the National Health Insurance Act; and whether such scheme has received the sanction of the Ministry?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The proposed scheme has received careful consideration but has not yet been sanctioned. The present list of additional benefits already affords to approved societies a wide variety of forms of remedial treatment from amongst which they may select those to which the limited funds available for the purpose out of their disposable surpluses shall be allocated, and, before adding further benefits to that list, my right hon. Friend would require to be satisfied that there was a fairly widespread desire on the part of societies for such an extension.

asked the Minister of Health how many certificates have been received in which the words vaccination or vaccinia or post-vaccinal encephalitis occur as the cause of death since 1st January this year; in how many other cases did death occur within one month after vaccination; the ages of the persons to whom both sets of death certificates referred; and in which cases were inquests held?

Since the 1st January, 1929, 10 death certificates have been received in which the words "vaccination," "vaccinia," or " post-vaccinal encephalitis," appeared in the Coroner's certificate or the medical certificate of the cause of death. The ages of the deceased were respectively 4 weeks, 4 months, 5 months, 6 months, 8 years, 9 years, 10 years, IV years, 26 years and 31 years; inquests were held on the persons aged 8 years, 10 years, 17 years, 26 years and 31 years, respectively. In addition, I have information of seven cases in which death occurred within one month after vaccination. The ages of the deceased were respectively 9 years, 10 years, two of 13 years, 14 years, 51 years and 58 years; inquests were held on the persons aged 10 years, 14 years, 58 years and on one of the persons aged 13 years.

asked the Minister of Health whether he proposes to introduce some modification in the Rent Restrictions Act to permit of the winding up of estates?

The future of the Rent Restrictions Acts is one of the matters which is engaging my attention; I regret that I am not yet in a position to make a statement on the subject.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the grounds on which a widow's pension has been refused to Mrs. M. A. Christelene, of 87, Cardigan Street, Oxford?

According to the official records the name of the widow is Mrs. Christelow. I find that her husband, having attained the age of 70 before the commencement of the Contributory Pensions Act, did not pay any contributions under the Act. The case, therefore, did not fall under the general contributory scheme and the special provision made by the Act for this exceptional class requires, as a condition of the award of a widow's pension, that there should be at least one child under the age of 14 living at the death of the husband. Mrs. Christelow's claim failed because this condition was not satisfied.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give, for the county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham respectively, the estimated gain during the first fixed period under the Local Government Act, expressed as the equivalent of a rate in the £, on the assumption that the functions of the West Ham guardians will, on the 1st of April next, be transferred to the councils of the two county boroughs, so far as their areas are concerned?

An estimate based as far as possible on the figures for the standard year (1928–29) indicates that the operation of the Act would result in a gain of approximately Is. 7d. in the £ to the ratepayers of the county borough of West Ham and a gain of approximately 2s. l0d. in the £ to the ratepayers of East Ham county borough. This estimate is necessarily provisional pending the definite ascertainment at a future date, as provided in the Act, of the relevant factors for the calculations.

asked the Minister of Health what is the estimated capital value of the relief which will accrue to the ratepayers in the county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, respectively, by virtue of Section 94 of the Local Government Act, 1929, assuming that the powers of the Minister under Section 17 will not be exercised; and what would fee the annual amount of such relief during the first fixed period expressed as the equivalent of a rate in the £ in each case?

It is presumed that the hon. Member intended to refer to Sections 114 and 20 and not to Sections 94 and 17 of the Local Government Act, 1929. On the assumption mentioned in the question it is estimated that the capital value on the 1st April, 1930, of the annuity which would be payable as from that date by the ratepayers of the county borough of West- Ham in respect of loans to which Section 114 applies is smaller by about £258,000 than the capital value of the annuity which would have been so payable if the Act had not passed. The corresponding sum for the

asked the Minister of Health how many buildings have been taken possession of since April, 1925, under the powers provided in Section 46 of the 1925 Housing Act;

county borough of East Ham is estimated at £89,000. The annual amount of the relief to be given by the operation of Section 114 would, it is estimated, be equivalent in both county boroughs to a rate of about Is. 3d. in the £ on reduced rateable value during the first fixed grant period under the Act.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is yet in a position to state if it is the intention of the Government to postpone the operation of Part I of the Local Government Act of 1929?

It is not the intention of the Government to postpone the operation of Part I of the Act of 1929.

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 months of May and June, 1929?

The following statement shows the number of persons in receipt of poor law relief on Saturdays 25th May, 1929, and 22nd June, 1929, in the parishes of Devonport and Plymouth:

and, in view of the admitted confiscatory powers and repeated promises of remedial legislation, whether steps will be taken to provide adequate compensation?

The total number of buildings, including those taken only for the purpose of making schemes efficient, which have been acquired by local authorities under Improvement or Reconstruction Schemes since the 1st April, 1925, was 9,423 on the 1st April last, the latest date for which figures are available. The question of further legislation to facilitate dealing with slum areas is receiving my consideration, but the hon. and gallant Member must not take it that I accept his description of the existing provisions, and obviously I am not bound by any promises which may have been made in this matter by the previous administration.

asked the Minister of Health if he can state the number of subsidy houses built by local authorities and by private enterprise, respectively, under the Housing Acts of 1923 and 1924, which have been completed in each month of the present year?

The following statement gives the information desired by the hon. Member for each of the first five months of the present year. Similar figures for the month of June are not yet available

asked the Home Secretary whether it is his intention to introduce legislation prohibiting the vivisection of dogs?

This is a matter on which the Government must be guided by the best possible advice which it can command, and having regard particularly to the carefully considered opinion on the subject which was expressed in the memorandum of the Medical Research Council presented to Parliament in 1927, I am afraid that I cannot undertake to introduce legislation on this subject.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will consider the desirability of so altering the law that the records of men charged with loitering should not be known to the bench before conviction?

In order to prove the offence against Section 4 of the Vagrancy Act, 1824, as extended by Section 7 of the, Penal Servitude Act, 1891, it is necessary to establish that the accused is a suspected person or reputed thief loitering with felonious intent, and for this purpose evidence of his character and record is essential. I do not consider any alteration of this provision of the law desirable.

asked the Minister of Transport if he has received the Report of the civil engineer with reference to the proposed Forth Road bridge; whether he has decided to take action upon it; and, if so, will he state the nature of any such scheme?

The engineers' Report on the proposed Forth Road bridge is in my hands and I propose shortly to transmit copies to the local authorities concerned so that their observations on the Report may be obtained.

asked the Minister of Transport if he can state the amount of money paid as freight relief since 1st December, 1928, up to the latest available date; and what has been the effect on export prices of coal and on the prices of iron and steel?

The rebates allowed by the railway companies under the Railway Freight Rebates (Anticipation) Scheme amounted up to the 8th June to over £1,000,000. It should be borne in mind that owing to the system of credit accounts the rebates on a large proportion of the traffic are allowed several weeks after the date on which the traffic passes . With regard to the last part of the question, my hon. Friend will realise that there are many factors governing the level of prices and that it is not therefore possible to isolate the effect of the rebates. The average amounts of rebate allowed per ton are approximately as follows:—Exported coal, 7½d. Coal delivered to iron and steel works, 9¼d. Other industrial traffics (including iron ore and limestone), 5d.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can give comparative figures for similar distances of the rates of freight for similar agricultural products on the railway systems of Great Britain, Belgium, France, and Germany?

It is not possible to give the comparative figures which the hon. and gallant Member desires as the available data in respect of the freight charges in the countries named are compiled on different bases to that adopted in this country and the rates charged in the respective countries do not cover identical services and accommodation.

asked the Lord Privy Seal, whether, in preparing his schemes for the creation of employment, he is having regard to the large number of unemployed women?

Certainly, Sir.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what progress has been made in Leicestershire with the national egg-grading scheme?

Two producers' cooperative egg packing centres have received authorisation under the National Mark Egg Scheme in Leicestershire, namely, Melton Mowbray and District Farmers' Association, Limited, Melton Mowbray, and Loughborough and District Farmers' Association, Limited, Loughborough. The latter has only recently commenced operations, but it is understood that the Melton centre has considerably increased its output since the inception of the scheme. Probably one or two more packing stations will qualify for authorisation in the course of the next few months. To give support to the scheme, a successful National Mark Egg Week was arranged in the city of Leicester at the beginning of June, in which the county branch of the National Farmers' Union, the authorised packing stations, and local organisations of distributors co-operated.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been called to the fact that the O use Drainage Board are compelled to threaten with proceedings and take proceedings against farmers, smallholders and numerous poor persons residing in the villages and towns of Huntingdonshire and the fen districts for the nonpayment of O use drainage rates; whether he will consider the removal of the burden of these rates and materially help agriculture in these and other districts throughout the country by bringing in legislation to enact that the burden of the O use drainage and all other drainage schemes shall fall upon the National Exchequer and not upon those interested and/or employed in agriculture in the districts affected by such drainage schemes?

I am aware that the O use Drainage Board like many other drainage authorities are endeavouring to carry out the powers and duties conferred upon them under the existing law of land drainage. The whole question of land drainage legislation has been the subject of a Report by a Royal Commission, and I cannot say more at present in reply to the second part of the hon. Member's question than that the report in question is now engaging my earnest attention.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has any comparative figures he can give as to the agricultural populations of Great Britain, France, Belgium and Germany; and the proportion to total population?

Figures of the agricultural population are not available, but the following statement shows (1) the total population, (2) the total number of persons occupied in agriculture, and

(a) Post-War territory.

(b) Total of all ages.

(c) Persons of 12 years of age and over only, including estate agents and managers, farmers, farmers' relatives assisting in the work of the farm, gardeners, nurserymen, seedsmen, florists, pupils not at colleges, agricultural machine proprietors and managers, drainage superintendents and drainers, and estate labourers.

(d) Figures refer to census years; those of total population have been taken from the year book of the International Institute of Agriculture, and those of persons occupied in agriculture from information supplied by the International Labour Office from the respective census volumes.

(e) From census of population (occupations).

(3) the percentage of the total population occupied in agriculture, as disclosed by the most recent censuses taken in Great Britain, Germany, France and Belgium.

It must be borne in mind, however, that these figures have only a very limited value for comparative purposes owing to differences in classification in the various countries.

(f) Including agriculture and forestry, but excluding horticulture. Comprising employers of paid labour and independent farmers, salaried workers, wage-earning workers and members of farmers' families assisting, who regard agriculture and forestry as a principal or subsidiary occupation.

(g) Including agriculture and forestry. Comprising heads of enterprises (including farmers' wives) paid relatives, salaried employés and wage-earning workers, casual workers and unemployed.

(h) Agriculture, excluding horticulture and forestry. Comprising farmers (heads of undertakings), farmers' families occupied in agriculture, salaried employés and wage paid workers.