asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will consider amending Article 413 of the King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions for officers' stewards and cooks ratings to be placed on ordinary advancement roster according to date of passing for higher rating instead of by seniority in rating as at present?

I am doubtful whether date of passing rosters for officers' stewards and cooks would be satisfactory, and no such request has so far been put forward at the Welfare Conferences.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether any representations have been made to him with regard to the proposal to withdraw, as from 1st April, the armed guards from His Majesty's Forces that have recently been supplied to certain merchant vessels plying on the China coast; and what has been the nature of the reply?

A communication on the subject was recently received, not by me, but by the Prime Minister, which made some proposals. These are being examined, and it is hoped to send a reply shortly.

asked the Minister of Health the number of widows in receipt of pension during the first week of January, 1929, and the first week of February, 1930, under the provisions of the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act?

I regret that it is not possible to give particulars of the number of widows in receipt of pension during the particular weeks in question. As at 31st December, 1928, the number of such widows in England and Wales was 207,351, while at 31st December, 1929, the number was 249,524.

asked the Prime Minister whether any figures are at the disposal of the Economic Advisory Council as to amounts spent on research in Great Britain and /or the British Empire, the United States of America, and Germany, nationally, co-operatively, and by individual firms; and if so, can he indicate their nature or consider issuing a White Paper on the subject?

I doubt whether it would be possible to obtain a return of the nature desired of sufficient accuracy to justify the expenditure that would be entailed in its preparation. Full information regarding expenditure on research by His Majesty's Government will, of course, be at the disposal of the Council.

asked the Prime Minister, whether he will consider the advantage of the establishment of a Ministry of Fine Arts and Public Amenities that would enable a continuous policy to be carried out, irrespective of what Government was in office, to supervise and advance the work of such commissions as those concerned with historical manuscripts, ancient monuments (for England, Scotland, and Wales), Royal Fine Arts (England and Scotland), Records of Parliament Committee, national parks, town and rural planning, together with the work done by outside associations concerned with kindred matters; and whether he is aware that such a Ministry need not be any additional expense to the existing Estimates and that most countries have gained material advantages by the administration of such a Department?

The hon. and gallant Member's suggestion has been noted, but I am not at present satisfied that it would be desirable to create a new Ministry for the purposes referred to.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether the evidence given before the Haycroft Commission of Inquiry of 1921 is available in Palestine or elsewhere; and, if so, whether it can be consulted?

The evidence was not published at the time, and so far as I am aware, it is not available for consultation.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that the grant given by the Government of Kenya to missionary societies in aid of the education of girls is to be reduced; will he state the rate of the present grant and the amount by which it is proposed to be reduced; and, seeing that any reduction of the grant at present given to missionary societies in aid of education for girls is likely to cause a set-back to a service which is only in very early stages and which urgently needs expansion, will he inquire into the matter?

The sum provided in the Kenya Estimates for 1929 as grants to missions in aid of schools was £25,292. In the Estimates for 1930 this sum has been increased by £5,940 to £31,232. Part of this increase is stated to be due to increments of salaries on authorised scales, and that for the rest the aim has been to subsidise two specially important branches of work, namely, the education of girls and the training of teachers; but my Noble Friend, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, is not in a position to say exactly what part of the grants is being expended upon the education of girls. It may be mentioned that, apart from the foregoing grants, the Vote for the domestic training of African women is also to be increased, namely, from £1,000 in 1929 to £2,000 in 1930. There is no question of the Government of Kenya failing to appreciate the importance of providing for female education, and so fat-as finance permits they may be relied upon to do all that is possible. The Director of Education, dealing with this subject in his Report for 1928, states:

"The education of women and girls has received a great impetus from Government grants at the Church Missionary Society station at Kabete and is now on a sound footing. The same Mission is developing useful work at Kahuhia. The Church of Scotland is working well in this sphere at Kikuyu and Tumutumu. Special grants from Government have greatly aided the foundation and conduct of a girls' institution at Pumwami in Nairobi, and the erection of new buildings and the provision of staff remuneration at the Women's Industrial Home at Dagoretti."