asked the Postmaster-General between what dates were the 124 public telephones recently installed in post offices and railway stations in Northern Ireland provided?

As stated in my answer on Monday last, the 124 telephones mentioned comprise not only those actually provided but also those authorised. Between 1st May last and 30th November, 38 call offices were opened and progress is being made towards the provision of the remainder.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that the only late evening posting facilities in the suburbs of Manchester are by means of post-boxes carried on certain tramcars which leave their termini at 9 p.m., and that waiting at stops for the tramcar causes considerable inconvenience, especially in bad weather, to large numbers of people who are obliged to use this means of posting their evening letters; and will he consider the possibilities of a return to late evening collections from post-boxes as in pre-War times?

I am having inquiries made and will write to the hon. Member later.

asked the Postmaster-General who is responsible for the matter contained in the wireless messages sent from Rugby each day and distributed by the Governments of the Dominions to the Press in those countries?

The messages to which the hon. Member refers are despatched by the Foreign Office.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether any steps have been taken with a view to securing a medical appeal tribunal to enable ex-Service men to submit their eases where conflicting opinions exist between the man's own doctor and the Ministry's medical advisers?

The machinery of formal appeal to an appeal tribunal is, in my judgment, not the most suitable or most expeditious mode of determining such purely medical matters as the form of treatment appropriate to a particular case, where there is a difference of opinion on this point on medical grounds. I have, however, arranged that any difficult cases of this character, where representations are made by panel doctors, are reviewed at the headquarters of the Ministry.

asked the Minister of Pensions the number of applications he has received in the last month under the modification of the seven years' limit; and in how many such cases have pensions been granted?

About 1,500 applications have been received in the month, but it is not possible to distinguish the number of applications which would not have been made but for the modified procedure nor the number of these which have been successful.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has now received a reply from the Government of India with regard to the grievances of the foremen employed in the Indian ordnance factories; what is the nature of this reply; and what action he proposes to take with regard to the matter?

I have brought this matter again to the notice of the Government of India, but I am afraid I cannot expect their views until after Christmas. I will let my hon. Friend know when 'they have been received and considered.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has received any representation from the Netherlands Government in respect of the facilities provided by the authorities in India for the machines working the Dutch air-mail route to the East Indies; what steps the Government of India have taken to investigate this matter; and what action has been taken, or it is proposed shall be taken, to meet these complaints?

Requests were received from the Netherlands Government for facilities to be granted in India for certain trial flights with a view to the eventual institution of a regular service. The Government of India agreed to grant facilities for trial flights during 1929, but regretted their inability to permit the use of the Indian air route for a permanent service until the necessary ground organisation was complete. The position has been fully explained to the Netherlands Government. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has just received a communication from the Netherlands Minister in London ask- ing that facilities for further trial flights should be granted in 1930. This request involves consultation with the Government of India, and immediate consideration is being given thereto.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will give particulars in regard to the number and amount of the grants that have been made in accordance with the decision of the Government of India to make grants to Indian cadets proceeding to Sandhurst to meet the difference between the estimated cost of their military education in India and the cost in England?

Under the present system, an Indian cadet on proceeding to Sandhurst after passing the Army entrance examination in India, is given a grant of £100 to meet the cost of equipment arid clothing required on arrival in this country, and while borne on the books of the college is credited with a special overseas allowance at the rate of 4s. a day in addition to his ordinary pay as a cadet. Further financial assistance may also be given in cases of pecuniary need. In addition, free passages from and to India have been provided since Indian cadets were first admitted to Sandhurst. The number of Indian cadets now at Sandhurst to whom the new system of grants has been or is being applied is seven; 11 more are due to join within the next few weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for India what progress has been made in developing the sites acquired by the Government of India for airship bases at Calcutta and Bombay, and of the site for an aerodrome at Gaya, in Bihar and Orissa?

I have no information, but I will inquire.

asked the Secretary of State for India the number of Indian and European commissioned officers, executive officers, and other ranks in the Cantonments Department of the Indian Army; and how many Indians and how many Europeans have been admitted to the higher ranks of the Cantonment Department since this department was open to Indians?

According to the latest Budget Estimates, the establishment of the Cantonments Department of the Government of India, Army Department, on 1st April, 1929, was composed of 40 officers with King's Commissions, of whom one was an Indian, and 16 officers with Viceroy's Commissions, all of whom were Indians. There were no other ranks. The department comprises a director, an inspecting section, an executive section, Class I, for which only King's commissioned officers are eligible, and an executive section, Class II, for which only Viceroy's commissioned officers are eligbile. Indian officers holding the King's Commission are equally eligible with British officers for appointment to Class I and for promotion within the department. It appears that all the 17 Indian officers mentioned above have been appointed since the reorganisation of 1924; the corresponding figure for European officers is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for India to what extent slavery exists in the Native States of India?

The Government of India are satisfied that slavery in the ordinary sense of the term does not exist in any Indian State.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number of nations which are 'in arrear with the payment of their respective quotas to the League of Nations, giving in each case the amount of such arrears and the period in which payment has not been made; and whether this failure to pay punctually causes any increase in the quotas of nations which do meet their obligations?

According to the most recent figures at my disposal, the following States were in arrears on the 4th instant with their contributions for the financial periods ending 31st December, 1928. The amounts and the periods involved are given in each instance:—

State and financial period.	Gold Francs.	Gold Francs.
Bolivia.
1923	90,000
1924	104,284.01
1925	109,049.86
1926	88,100.63
1927	86,940.32
1928	89,320.01
		567,694.83
China.
1922	182,119
1923	1,767,773.28
1924	1,506,324.51
1925	1,211,665.15
1926	1,022,094.81
1927	929,513.11
1928	1,141,311.24
		7,760,801.10

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will urge the Council of the League of Nations to publish the memorandum on slavery in Abyssinia, prepared by Lord Lugard for the League of Nations Commission in 1922?

So far as I am aware, no memorandum on slavery in Abyssinia was prepared by Lord Lugard for the League of Nations Commission in 1922. The Report of the Temporary Slavery Commission, on which Lord Lugard was the British representative, was communicated to the President of the Council on 25th July, 1925. This Report, which refers inter alia to conditions in Abyssinia, was published in the League of Nations Official Journal, sixth year, No. 10.

Country.		Cows and heifers in milk.	Cows in calf but not in milk.	Heifers in calf with first calf.	Total dairy cattle.
England	…	1,789,123	261,754	330,976	2,381,853
Wales	…	264,950	31,961	33,787	330,698
England and Wales	…	2,054,073	293,715	364,763	2,712,551

asked the Minister of Agriculture the total amount paid by the State in the establishment of small holdings since 1918; how much of this money is regarded as irrecoverable; and how many smallholders have been established as a result of this expenditure?

The following statement gives the required information in respect of small holdings provided by county councils and councils of county boroughs in England and Wales. Separate figures are given for (1) Holdings created under the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act, 1919; and (2) Holdings created under the Small Holdings and Allotments Act, 1926.(1)

asked the Minister of Agriculture the approximate number of cows in use for milking purposes in England and in Wales?

The numbers of each class of dairy cattle in England and in Wales as returned on 4th June, 1929, are shown in the following statement:management, etc., were repaid annually to councils for each year up to the 31st March, 1926. The amount so repaid was £5,125,000, but it should be observed:

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, with a view to utilising the existing local machinery in the interests of the marketing and grading scheme now being extended, he will consider the advisability of requesting county agricultural committees to set up special sub-committees charged with the specific duty of co-ordinating this work in each county area?

It is the practice of my Department in the development of its grading and marking schemes to work, in the first instance, through the National Farmers' Union and the various national bodies of distributors concerned and to encourage the county branches of the National Farmers' Union to undertake such local co-ordination as may be practicable or desirable according to the nature of each scheme. This Procedure is working satisfactorily, but if my hon. Friend has any particular plan in mind, and would communicate it to me in detail, I should, of course, be glad to consider it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many and what animals were found to be infected with foot-and-mouth disease in the recent outbreak at Wales farm, Plumpton; how many and what animals were slaughtered there; what is the total cost to be borne; and by whom?

Two cows were found affected with foot-and-mouth disease in the recent outbreak at Wales Farm, Plumpton. 114 cattle, two sheep and 122 pigs were slaughtered as affected or as having been exposed to the risk of infection. The total cost is as follows:

	£	s.	d.
Compensation	4,569	15	0
Costs of slaughtering, disposal of carcases, disinfection, etc. (approx.)	370	0	0
	£4,939	15	0

This sum will be paid by the Ministry out of the Cattle Pleuro-Pneumonia Account for Great Britain.

asked the Minister of Agriculture in how many instances during the last five years has the Minister used his discretion not to slaughter animals which have not been exposed to any risk of infection from an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease; whether the result has justified the exercise of this discretion and whether all the animals slaughtered in the recent outbreak at Wales Farm, Plumpton, had been exposed to the risk of infection?

Section 15 of the Diseases of Animals Act, 1894, empowers the Ministry to slaughter in connection with foot-and-mouth disease—

(a) affected or suspected animals, and

(b) animals which are or have been in the same place or herd as affected animals or which appear to have been exposed to infection.

In no case have animals been slaughtered during the past five years which have not been exposed to any risk of infection. All the animals slaughtered in the recent outbreak at Wales Farm, Plumpton, consisting of 114 cattle, two sheep and 122 pigs, had been exposed to infection. 32 cattle which were grazing in outlying fields on the same farm and which did not appear to have been so exposed were not slaughtered.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department the exact nature of the new Australian duties, and if these are increased upon the different hosiery imports from this country?

Particulars of the changes in the Australian Customs tariff, which came into force on 22nd November, were published on pages 669 to 675 of the Board of Trade Journal for 5th December, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy. They include substantial increases in the duties on socks and stockings. Further changes were introduced on 11th December, and full particulars of the changes will be published in the Journal for 19th December.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give detailed particulars for the past five years, in such a form as may be convenient, showing separately the values of the total exports by the British Empire to foreign countries, the values of the total imports of the British Empire from foreign countries, and the values of the total imports and exports as between each unit of the British Empire, respectively?

A table showing the value of the merchandise (exclusive of gold and silver bullion and coin) passing in the trade of the British Empire, including mandated territories, during each of the years 1913 and 1922 to 1927, distinguishing foreign and inter-Imperial trade, appears on page 81 of the latest issue (No. 59) of the Statistical Abstract for the several British oversea Dominions and Protectorates (Cmd. 3434). The following statement gives the corresponding (provisional) figures for the year 1928:

	Thousand
	£
Trade between British countries and foreign countries:
Imports	1,376,353
Exports of domestic produce	941,091
Re-exports	133,428
Total trade with foreign countries	2,450,872

Trade between the United Kingdom and other British countries:
Imports	370,302
Exports of domestic produce	327,668
Re-exports	22,779

Trade between British countries other than the United Kingdom:
Imports*	135,821
Total inter-Imperial trade	856,570
Grand total	3,307,442

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how many acres of vacant, land are in the possession of his Department; how many acres are tenanted; and the situation of such land?

The Air Ministry owns in the British Isles approximately 25,000 acres, of which 16,000 are let to farming and grazing tenants, subject to Royal Air Force user. To state the situation of the land, 73 stations being concerned, would be a lengthy matter; my hon. and gallant Friend will perhaps refer to the Air Force List.

The Table below shows the position as on 1st August, 1914, 1st January, 1925 and 1st October, 1929 (these dates being more convenient for statistical purposes:—
I. Total number of messengers employed on 1st August, 1914	…	…	…	2222
II. Unestablished Messengers, Paper Keepers and Record Keepers employed on 1st January, 1925

—		Unestablished Messengers.	Unestablished Paper Keepers and Record Keepers.
Headquarter Departments	…	2,319	141
Ex-Headquarter Departments	…	482	7
Total	…	2,801	148

III. Messenger and Paper Keeping Staffs employed on 1st October, 1929:
—	Messengers.			Paper Keepers and Record Keepers.
	Established.	Unestablished		Established.	Unestablished
		"P" Class.	Others.		"P" Class.	Others.
Headquarter Departments	395	1,034	1,071	161	159	225
Ex-Headquarter Departments	29	87	326	10	—	7
Total	424	1,121	1,397	171	159	232
NOTE.—The figures exclude the messengerial staffs of War Office and Air Ministry Outstations and boy messengers and girl probationers employed under the Post Office.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of established, unestablished, and temporary messengers employed, respectively, in headquarter and ex-headquarter departments on 1st September, 1929; the number of established, unestablished, and temporary paper and record keepers employed in headquarter and ex-headquarter departments, respectively, on 1st September, 1929; and the total number of messengers employed in the Civil Service on 1st August, 1914?

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the respective numbers of temporary messengers and record and paper keepers serving in headquarters and ex-headquarters departments of the Civil Service on the 31st December, 1924?

pursuant to his replies [OFFICIAL REPORT, 7th November and 19th November, 1929, col. 1274; Vol. 231, and col. 288; Vol. 232] supplied the following:

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the inquest conducted by the City Coroner on 29th November, 1929, on a death occurring in Clerkenwell slum property, where a tenement comprising six small rooms occupied by 23 men, women, and children could not be demolished and rebuilt by the owners by reason of the Rent Restriction Act; and whether he is prepared to introduce legislation, by way of amendment of the Rent Restriction Act, in order to provide that, where the owner of property bona fide desires to pull down the same for rebuilding, for commercial purposes or otherwise, he shall be entitled to an order for possession, subject to his providing reasonable alternative accommodation for the displaced occupiers?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. In reply to the second part, I would point out that existing legislation provides that an order for possession may be granted by the Court when a dwelling-house is reasonably required for any purpose which, in the opinion of the Court, is in the public interest and the Court is satisfied as to the existence of alternative accommodation and that it would be reasonable to grant the order.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will provide a return showing the results of the working of the Housing (Rural Workers) Act, 1926, in Scotland and giving the figures for the various counties separately?

I am sending the hon. Member a statement containing the information desired.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is aware that the corporation of the borough of Gillingham, Kent, to enable it to proceed with schemes for relief of unemployment, has applied to the Public Works Loan Board for a loan and has been informed by that authority that, as the rateable value of the borough of Gillingham now exceeds £200,000, no application for a loan can be considered other than on the basis of the sale of national savings certificates; that, in consequence of the corporation of Gillingham having embarked upon a progressive housing scheme, it has exhausted its right to a loan from the Public Works Loan Board on the basis aforesaid; and whether, having regard to the necessity that exists in the borough of Gillingham for schemes for the relief of unemployment to be proceeded with at once and to the circumstance that local authorities are experiencing considerable difficulty in raising loans in the open market at a reasonable rate of interest, His Majesty's Government will consider the desirability of taking immediate steps, by legislation or otherwise, to empower the Public Works Loan Commissioners to consider application for loans for works for the relief of unemployment apart from the restriction as to the sale of national savings certificates, particularly in the case of those boroughs whose rateable value, through the incidence of the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925, now exceeds £200,000?

I have been asked to reply. I am having inquiries made into the matter, and will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of tin miners registered as unemployed in Cornwall during the last three months?

Separate figures for tin miners are not available but the numbers of insured persons, aged 16 to 64, classified as belonging to tin, lead and copper mining, recorded as unemployed in Cornwall were:

23rd September, 1929	…	716
20th October, 1929	…	795
25th November, 1929	…	994

Grounds of disallowance.	4 weeks ended 9th Sept., 1929.	5 weeks ended 14th Oct., 1929.	4 weeks ended 11th Nov., 1929.
Claims disallowed by Insurance Officers:—
First statutory condition*	3	4	3
Not unable to obtain suitable employment	3	5	3
Not genuinely seeking work	36	45	42
Employment lost through misconduct	4	7	5
Employment left voluntarily without just cause	22	20	12
Other permanent provisions	—	3	6
Transitional Conditions Sec. 14 (2) U.I. Act, 1927	23	36	56
Totals	91	120	127
Claims recommended for disallowance by Courts of Referees on review after payment of 78 days benefit:—
Not genuinely seeking work	7	7	1
Total disallowances	98	127	128
* This condition at present operates only in the case of juveniles under 18 years of age.

asked the Minister of Labour how many courts of referees set up under the provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Acts are at present in being; where they are located; on how many days during the year do they normally sit; who are their chairmen and what remuneration do these latter receive?

There are 143 courts, and each court normally sits at least once a week. The number of sittings during the year ended 31st October, 1929, was about 24,000. The chairman receives 2½ guineas for each sitting of approximately three hours. I will send the hon. Member the names of the chairmen and the districts for which they are appointed.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of applications for unemployment benefit refused during September, October, and November, respectively, at the North Shields Employment Exchange, and the principal reasons for such disallowances?

The following table shows the number of claims for benefit made at the North Shields Employment Exchange which were disallowed during the three months ended 11th November, 1929, analysed according to the grounds of disallowance.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, having regard to the number of unemployed in the Chatham, Rochester, and Gillingham district of Kent, she will give instructions that no unemployed men from distressed areas are to be sent to that district?

I can assure the hon. Member that in this and in other cases the transfer machinery will be administered with careful regard to the particular circumstances.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the number of insured persons employed in work for public services or in connection with public utilities of types for which unemployment grants are available; and what numbers are employed on other types of work to which no unemployment grants are at present given?

I regret that the information for which the hon. Member asks is not available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies haw many village dispensaries and maternity centres for the use of natives are now in existence in the protectorate of Uganda; how many trained native midwives are now on the roll in that protectorate; how many are trained annually by the Government, the Church Missionary Society, and the Third Order of St. Francis, re- spectively, in Uganda; and whether he proposes to suggest to the Government of Kenya that they should establish a scheme similar to that in Uganda for the provision of trained native midwives for the natives of Kenya?

The latest information available in the Colonial Office relates to the year 1928. There were then 56 district sub-dispensaries in the Uganda Protectorate in addition to 24 native hospitals at which dispensary treatment could be obtained and 41 maternity centres. Four new maternity centres were in course of construction. There were 93 native midwives on the official midwives roll on 1st January, 1929. In 1928 the average number of student midwives in training by the Church Missionary Society was 24 and 15 passed the qualifying examination during the year. At the Mill Hill Mission, where the sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis work, the average number of students was 21 and three natives qualified. The Protectorate Government contributes annual grants to missions for the maintenance of midwifery centres and midwives. As regards the last part of the question, steps have already been taken in the matter in Kenya by the Government and by voluntary effort. At the end of 1928 there was a number of child welfare clinics in operation in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu, and additional centres were to be opened in Mombasa this year. The Lady Grigg Child Welfare League has maternity homes and child welfare centres in Nairobi and Mombasa, The training in midwifery of Indian and native women is undertaken at these centres.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the total revenue, other than railway revenue, during the last financial year for which accounts are available of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanganyika, respectively; what percentage of these revenues in each case was represented by the receipts from direct taxes on African natives; and what percentage of the total expenditure during the corresponding period by each Government was devoted, respectively, to education, to medical and public health, and to agricultural and veterinary services?

I append tables giving the figures desired by the Noble Lady:

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies the latest available figures showing the number of East Indians and Europeans resident inRETURN showing (1) the estimated number of East Indians and Europeans on 31st December, 1928, in British Guiana, Mauritius, Fiji and Trinidad, and (2) the proportion these numbers bear to the estimated Total Population of those Colonies.

Colony.		Total Population.	Europeans.		East Indians.
			Number.	Percentage to Total Population.	Number.	Percentage to Total Population.
British Guiana	…	307,784	11,302	3·67	126,964	41·25
Mauritius	…	404,802(3)	General(1)	28·35	281,025	69·42
			Population
			114,774
Fiji	…	176,793	4,591	2·6	70,996	40·16
Trinidad and Tobago	…	397,093	General(3)	67·52	128,970	32·48
			Population
			268,123
(1) Total Population less the Indian and Chinese Populations.
(2) Excluding Dependencies.
(3) Total Population less the East Indian Population.