asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the amount raised by new capital issues in the first half of the current year for industry, trade, and finance as compared with the amount raised in a similar period in 1929?

No official figures are compiled, but those published by the "Economist" show that new issues in the London Market in the first half of 1930 amounted to £169,655,700 as compared with £174,393,600 in the first half of 1929. If "industry, trade and finance" be taken to exclude the loans of Governments and Municipalities, the totals are £49,504,600 and £133,771,200 respectively.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the 40 tanks and 20 light armoured vehicles exported to Russia within the last 12 months were built to Soviet design or whether they were reproductions of British Army types; and whether, in the latter case, the issue of licences met with the approval of the War Office?

The 40 tanks and 20 light armoured vehicles were built to designs of Messrs. Vickers-Armstrong, Limited. No objection to the issue of the licence for their export to Russia was raised by the War Office.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he will give information showing the total number of inland wireless stations in India which have been practically closed down indefinitely; and if he will state the specific service for which these stations were originally erected?

I have no information, but will ask the Government of India for a report, if my hon. and gallant Friend so desires.

asked the Minister of Health the number of State-assisted houses built from September, 1929 to 31st

Period 1st September to 31st May.	Number of Houses completed.			Total.
	Housing, Town Planning, etc., Act, 1919.	Housing, etc., Act, 1923.	Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1924.
1928	30	51,916	60,410	112,356
1929	—	41,595	37,132	78,727
1930	32	26,377	41,460	67,869

The hon. Member is, of course, aware that financial assistance under the Act of 1923 was not available in respect of houses completed after the 30th September, 1929.

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to the serious delay which occurred recently in the despatch of letters to India from the South Coast of England; how many days were lost; and will he take the necessary steps to avoid similar delays in the future?

There is no reason to think that the particular case of delay of three letters for India to which I understand the right hon. Member refers was other than an isolated one. I am having further inquiry made and will write to him as early as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will state for each financial year since 1920–21, including the estimated figures for 1930–31, the amount of expenditure by the Exchequer and local authorities specifically authorised for purposes of schemes for the relief of unemployment among agricultural workers?

The following statement gives particulars of expenditure by the State and by statutory drainage

The figures are as follow:authorities on land drainage and water supply schemes inaugurated during the winters of 1921–2 to 1925–6, under a programme designed to relieve unemployment in rural areas:

Financial Years.
Year.	Exchequer (net).	Contributions by Statutory Drainage Authorities.
	£	£
1921–2	130,593	234
1922–3	331,780	29,079
1923–4	150,471	123,357
1924–5	210,409	72,367
1925–6	93,847	25,403
1926–7	11,536	—
1927–8	-3,885*	965
1928–9	-660*	837
1929–30	-530*	518
Totals	923,561	252,760

The total net cost of these schemes was £1,421,977, the difference between this amount and the sum of the two columns above representing contributions by local landowners.