asked the Secretary of State for India the total expenditure out of the funds of the Central Government in the form of grants to Provincial Governments made in respect of road development proposals recommended by the Indian Roads Committee?

I have no information but am inquiring.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can make a statement as to the present position in India?

I am circulating a statement giving the Government of India's appreciation of the situation to date.

Following is the statement:

Appreciation of the situation by the Government of India up to 6th December, 1930.

North West Frontier .—An Afridi jirga was interviewed at Jamrud on 17th November, and the following days, and the Maliks were also seen by the Chief Commissioner personally at Peshawar on 24th November. The jirga was fully representative and included Maliks and elders of all sections. Government pensioners were also represented. Beyond the suggestion made at a previous jirga, namely, that of sectional responsibility, the elders had, however, no alternative to put forward to the Government's measures on the Khajuri and Aka Khel Plains. The only addition to their previous statement was that the jirga might consider the construction of some roads across these plains, but only on condition of evacuation as soon as the roads were constructed. No agreement being possible under these circumstances, the jirga broke up. While the jirga was in session at Jamrud and subsequently, rumours were current that gangs were collecting in Tirah to attack the troops in Khajuri Plain. These rumours have not, however, materialized, and, so far the only hostile action which has materialized occurred on 3rd December, when a gang of about 100 Qambar Khels followed up a covering party in the Aka Khel plain, while troops were returning to camp at Miri Khel. Our casualties were one British officer killed and one British other rank wounded.

There have been a few spasmodic attempts at picketing liquor shops in Peshawar, otherwise there is nothing to report.

Internal India .—Fortnightly reports for the last half of November have so far been received from only three Local Governments. In the towns of the United Provinces agitation is more or less moribund. Meetings and processions have lost much of their previous attraction, but boycott continues in sporadic form and it remains to be seen here, as elsewhere, whether the expiry of the Unlawful Intimidation Ordinance will be followed by a revival of activities. The countryside is reported to have been little affected. Touring officers find the people friendly, but very anxious about the economic situation since producers are finding it very difficult to sell their produce, a feature common to most provinces. Considerable indiscipline in jails is reported and Assam mentions similar difficulties. The view of the Bihar and Orissa Government is that while the civil disobedience movement is becoming less intensive and less popular, there were definite indications during November that it was degenerating into violence in this province. There have been several incidents of late in which violence appears to have been premeditated and reports from the Tirhoot Division have been somewhat disquieting as noted below. The past week has witnessed sporadic acts of violence in several other provinces and, while it is unnecessary to assume that these are more than incidental features of the situation, they have been more in evidence than for some time past. The Assam Government reports that the improvement in the political situation has been maintained. Attempts continue to boycott Government educational institutions, but Congress opinion in this matter appears to be divided. In Bombay City there have been further deliberate attempts to defy the authorities with consequent clashes between them and the public, in several of which there have been stone throwing at the police. A violent assault is reported to have been made on a shopkeeper who opened his shop for the sale of foreign cloth and a somewhat similar incident in Benares led to a collision between the police and volunteers. In Karachi, there has been organised defiance of the authorities by the Congress and the Youth Association which appears to have taken the form of demonstrations before the courts of local magistrates and judges. The police have had forcibly to disperse several gatherings. There have been several terrorist outrages during the week at Chandpur in Bengal and an Inspector of Police was killed, the alleged murderers being subsequently arrested. In Cawnpore, a party of police who were about to carry out a search for suspects were fired on by a youth and several of the party injured; the assailant was killed. There is now good reason to believe that the wrecking of a mail train, which occurred in Burma about a month ago, was the work of the Bengal revolutionary party and a number of arrests have been made in this connection.

The proceedings of the round-table Conference continue to be closely followed by all who are interested in the political future of the country. The provisional classification of heads by Lord Sankey and possible methods of effecting federation are being critically examined in the Press and particular interest is taken in the status of India and in the form of central government. Hope alternates with anxiety as to the outcome of the Conference, but the feeling is growing that it represents a very important constructive effort to find a solution and that it merits the good wishes of all who have at heart the interests of India.

asked the Secretary of State for India the number of inquiries that have been held by the tariff board in India since the inception of the board; and if he will give information showing in how many cases the recommendations of the tariff board have been adopted by the Government of India and action has subsequently been taken thereon?

The board has conducted about 20 inquiries. The results are recorded in the annual Moral and Material Progress Reports.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he has any information concerning the lathi charge made upon students while at work in a class-room in the D.A.V. college at Lahore?

I have no official information regarding the alleged lathi charge on students in a class-room, but I will inquire.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will inquire into the happenings at the village of Chorepalia on 7th September, 1930, when lathi charges were made?

I have no information regarding the incident, but if my hon. Friend will communicate to me the facts in his possession, I will consider whether an inquiry can be made.

I will communicate with the right hon. Gentleman.

asked the Secretary of State for India why, as the British troops covering road-making west of Peshawar are considered as being on active service for discipline and punishment, they have not been put on an active-service basis as regards rations, clothing, and separation allowances?

I am making inquiries and I shall communicate the result to the hon. and gallant Member.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will make a statement on the engagement which took place on 3rd December at Aka Khel plain during which a British officer, Captain Will, was killed?

asked the Secretary of State for India if he can make any statement as to the recent fighting with the Afridis near Peshawar; and whether there is any indication of pacific tendencies among the tribesmen?

As will be seen from the statement circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT, the only hostile action that has materialised up to the present was on the 3rd December, when a gang of tribesmen followed up a covering party while troops were returning to camp. I have at present no further details, except the report, which I received with great regret, that Captain Will was killed in action at Alam Killi by a stray bullet. There are indications that some elements among the tribesmen are disposed to a pacific settlement.

Is the situation improving on that section of the frontier?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will refer to the communiqué issued to-day by the Government of India.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that on 15th November, when the Governor of Bombay was opening the Lloyd Quay at Karachi, a number of British and Indian ladies and gentlemen were spat upon, stoned, and had refuse from the road thrown at them by a Congress mob; that the Karachi British journalists reported the facts to the Associated Press, the Statesman, and Reuter, but that the cables were censored by the local authorities; and can he state the reason for this censorship of facts under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885?

asked the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to the events which took place at the opening of the Lloyd Quay at Karachi by His Excellency the Governor of Bombay; whether he is satisfied that the arrangements made for the preservation of law and order were adequate; and what action, if any, he proposes to take in the matter?

I have received no official report of this matter, but if it is desired will inquire. I am informed that a newspaper telegram was in fact withheld on the ground that it contained serious mis-statements of fact. I am inquiring further as to this.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the full facts were reported in the Indian Press, and that only statements very much minimising the occurrence were allowed to get through to this country?

I did not see them.

Are we to understand from the right hon. Gentleman's reply that there is a regular censorship of telegrams coming from India, or was this particular telegram censored for special reasons?

It is specially in reference to it that I am making inquiries.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider laying on the Table of the House, or in the Library, a statement on the subject, in view of the difficulties which hon. Members have in getting information?

The Noble Lord may remember that this matter was the subject of question and answer some short time ago, and perhaps, in the first place, he will refer to that interrogatory.

asked the Secretary of State for India under what law the editor and publisher of the Bombay Chronicle were arrested and imprisoned; and the date upon which this law first became applicable to Bombay?

The Act in question was the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1908. It was extended to the Bombay Presidency in 1910.

Is it not a fact that this Act had lapsed since and was only notified again on 10th October of this year; and, if that be the case, can it be described as the ordinary law?

I should like to make inquiries about that matter.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will consider the advisability of prohibiting the publication in newspapers in India of statements calculated to create prejudice against the Round-Table Conference, such as allegations of insulting treatment accorded to the Indian delegates to the Bound-Table Conference at the hands of British Ministers and permanent officials?

I agree with the hon. and gallant Gentleman in deploring the publication of matter likely to promote ill will but this end as a general rule would I think not be served by the means he proposes.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think it time that steps were taken in regard to the censorship of these statements?

I have attempted to answer the hon. and gallant Gentleman in my reply.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has now received a report from His Majesty's Ambassador concerning certain decrees of the Soviet Government giving detailed instructions for the manufacture and dumping of a large number of commodities?

His Majesty's Ambassador at Moscow has, on my instructions, made inquiries into this matter. He reports that, while instructions must presumably be given by the Soviet authorities in connection with the manufacture of articles intended for export, no decrees of the nature suggested have, according to the Soviet officials concerned, been drafted.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that certain responsible newspapers have published extracts from the decrees of the Labour Ministry of the Soviet Government; and will he ask the Ambassador to made further inquiries?

I can find no evidence in the direction indicated by the right hon. Gentleman.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make available to Members of the House copies of the decrees of the Soviet Russia Government which he has received from the British Ambassador in connection with the abolition of unemployment benefit and the conscription of labour recently issued by the Russian Commissariat of Labour?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will endeavour to obtain copies of the regulations governing the use of the prisoners in the Soviet Russian concentration camps working in the timber forests, the regulations as to the work done by the inmates of the Soviet Russian correction houses for young persons; and whether he will include these in the forthcoming White Paper on Soviet Russian labour conditions?

The attention of His Majesty's Ambassador at Moscow will be called to the suggestions made by the right hon. Gentleman and the hon. and gallant Member in connection with the preparation of the White Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply he has had from the British Ambassador at Moscow in regard to the message he was instructed to give to the Soviet Government protesting against the reflections made on His Majesty's Government at the trial at Moscow?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he or the British Ambassador has now received any reply from the Soviet Government concerning the communication made to them on behalf of His Majesty's Government in relation to certain passages reflecting adversely and without reason upon His Majesty's Government in the documents issued by the Soviet Government in the trial of certain industrialists now proceeding at Moscow; and, if not, whether he will cause telegraphic instructions to be sent to the British Ambassador to press for an immediate reply?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply has been received by the British Ambassador to Moscow to the remonstrances addressed by him to the Soviet Government on the instructions of the Government with respect to the statements made by the Soviet public prosecutor containing allegations against Great Britain?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any acknowledgment or reply from the Soviet Government to his protest with regard to the reflections upon the late and present Governments in the trial of professors at Moscow; and will he publish the reply when received?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any further reply has been received to his protest to the Soviet Government respecting the reflections made upon the preceding and the present British Governments in connection with the trial at Moscow for conspiracy?

The following is a translation of the reply returned by the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs to His Majesty's Ambassador:

"References to the possibility of the participation of British, circles in interventionist plans were made by the accused in written depositions at the time of the preliminary examination, and confirmed by them later in court. Neither the examining authorities nor the court can deprive the accused of the right to give evidence or to make such confessions as they consider necessary. The Public Prosecutor naturally based his indictment upon the confessions of the accused, which he could not ignore. However, the court and the Public Prosecutor at the time of the trial paid almost no attention to the references to England. Nor did the Public Prosecutor dwell upon these accusations in his final speech for the prosecution. Neither did the Government anywhere express its views upon these references to England."

Did not the public prosecutor put forward those witnesses, as witnesses of truth; did he not con- stantly identify himself with their statements throughout the trial; were not the accused found guilty on an indictment charging them with conspiracy with this country; and is the right hon. Gentleman going to allow matters to remain as they are?

I am afraid I have nothing to add to the answer.

Does the right hon. Gentleman intend to make any further communication to the Soviet Government on the subject; and does he think it compatible with the interest and dignity of this country that the matter should rest there?

I have only received the answer. I have given it in full just as I have received it, and I must consider the matter.

Does the right hon. Gentleman accept the explanation which he has just read to the House?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the claims of Russian creditors now lodged in the claims department of the Foreign Office have been classified and kept up to date, and has the Anglo-Russian Committee now discussing these claims examined any of them?

As the hon. and gallant Member was informed on 2nd April last, all these claims are registered with the Russian Claims Department of the Board of Trade. This register has remained open for any revision of claims that may be required. As regards the second part, I have at present nothing to add to my reply to the hon. Member for Kensington South (Sir W. Davison) on the 3rd of December.

Is it the case that the progress of this committee is being held up because those claims have not been brought up to date, and that other countries with similar claims have spent considerable time and money in bringing their claims up to date?

I am not aware that the committee have been held up on the ground stated.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any reply has been received to his representations to the Soviet Government respecting the anti-British propaganda contained in the broadcast from Moscow on Tuesday, 2nd December?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has yet received a reply from the Soviet Government with regard to his protest concerning the broadcasting of propaganda from Moscow?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any reply from the Soviet Government to his protests about the wireless propaganda from Moscow; and whether the receipt of any further messages from Moscow has been reported to him?

In reply to the representations made by His Majesty's Ambassador, the Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs has made a verbal statement, of which the following is a translation. With the leave of the House, I will read this statement in full, although it is rather long.

"I have ascertained that the broadcast to which the Ambassador referred was transmitted not from a station under the control of the Government but from a private station which is at the full disposal of the All Union Central Council of Trade Unions. No breach of the undertakings of the Soviet Government can be discerned in the fact that, without having established any form of censorship of messages of the broadcasting station, they place the station at the disposal of the trade unions.

I have acquainted myself with the contents of the message to which the Ambassador refers and have convinced myself that it only sets forth, though clearly from the Soviet point of view, the facts of the trial of the industrial party, in which it would hardly be possible to discern any anti-British propaganda whatever.

Similarly in the letter of Gorky broadcast from the station, even if that letter contains any propaganda, such propaganda is merely anti-war propaganda against which the British Government can hardly have anything to say. This being so, I have reached the conclusion that this radio message which, after all, was transmitted not by Government nor by its organs or agents but from the private broadcasting station of the trade unions, neither formally nor in substance constitutes a breach of any obliga- tions whatever of the Soviet Government and therefore does not give all grounds for a protest.

Nevertheless, I can say that, at the time when the All Union Central Council of Trade Unions was given the right to use the broadcasting station, no broadcast messages of this nature were contemplated, and that, taking into consideration Mr. Henderson's declaration, the undesirability of such broadcast messages in future will be impressed upon the All Union Central Council of Trade Unions."

Does the right hon. Gentleman accept the statement that the Broadcast station is not under the control of Soviet Russia? Is he going to swallow that fantastic statement?

I must do so until the right hon. Gentleman provides me with evidence to the contrary.

Is this the only example of private enterprise still allowed in Russia?

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether His Majesty's Government intend to take any steps to prevent similar anti-British propaganda being circulated?

I am not sure that that is going to be necessary, in view of the latter part of the answer which I have just given.

Does the right hon. Gentleman regard the answer as a humorous one or a serious one?

I like to treat other Governments with whom we are in friendly relations seriously.

I should like to know whether this broadcast can be received on an ordinary crystal set, or have you to have a very powerful valve set in order to receive it?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it can be received on a crystal set and that there is plenty of evidence for it?

I have the authority of the hon. Member opposite for that statement.

And of the "Daily Worker."

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will take steps to blanket the broad- cast of Soviet propaganda by the Soviet Government of Russia by means of the wireless transmitters belonging to the Admiralty or to some other Government Department?

As I have already stated, I consider the broadcasting of messages such as that sent out from Moscow on the 2nd of December as a breach of the pledge entered into by the Soviet Government last year. But I do not consider that action in the sense proposed is required at present.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in refusing to take action of this kind he is aiding and abetting the King's enemies?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when his attention was first called to the fact that Soviet propaganda was being broadcast from Moscow?

The matter was first brought to the attention of my Department in May last by a correspondent in Cardiff, and for many months past my hon. Friend the Postmaster-General has, as he informed the House on the 4th of December last, caused messages from Moscow to be supervised. I received no further intimation of any objectionable message until the 1st of December last.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the letter from Cardiff contained definite information that revolutionary incitements were being made, and that the Under-Secretary replied that he would make inquiries, and will he state why no steps have been taken in that long interval to put the matter right?

The hon. Member cannot have followed my reply. We did take steps by putting the matter into the hands of the Postmaster-General.

In view of the fact that another broadcast is announced for the 9th December, is the right hon. Gentleman taking any steps to get a closer liaison with the Post Office than on the last occasion?

No, Sir. It does not take so many hours for us to get into touch with the Post Office, but, as I informed the House, it had been taken from three distinct stations, and the Post Office, before it sent the information to my Department, had to be satisfied as to the consistency of all the statements.

Has the right hon. Gentleman listened in to his master's voice?

Is my right hon. Friend aware of the splendid advertisement these broadcasts are receiving through the action of hon. Gentlemen opposite?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the machinery set up, to inquire into Soviet propaganda has been acting during the last month; and whether any report has been made as a result of its activities to the Government?

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

Is there no machinery set up now to deal with Soviet propaganda, or is that another Government pledge which has been broken?

Oh, no. As I have already informed the House, the machinery is there when we feel that it is necessary to put it into force.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many of the 69 directors of the trading companies under Soviet control that are registered in this country, and are included in the list which has been circulated to the House, are Russian subjects; and how many of them who are resident in this country enjoy diplomatic privileges?

I have been asked to reply. The list referred to contains the names of 54 individuals, of whom 44 claim to be Soviet citizens. I am informed that none of them is entitled to diplomatic privilege.

Does the hon. Gentleman know whether any of the people in the list have at any time been deported or excluded from this country in con- sequence of any offence that they have committed?

I shall want notice of that question.

If I put down a question, will the hon. Gentleman answer it?

indicated assent .

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in how many public trials in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics during the past two years the British Government or its officials have been accused of complicity in plots to overthrow or embarrass the Soviet Government; in how many such cases an official protest has been made on behalf of the British Government; and what replies have been received?

Apart from the case referred to in various questions to-day, I am only aware of one public trial in which any such accusation has been made, namely, the trial of certain employés of the Lena Goldfields Company last May. On that occasion, I instructed His Majesty's Ambassador at Moscow to inform the Soviet Government that there was no foundation for the charges made. The hon. and gallant Member will no doubt realise that my Department is not in a position to obtain particulars of all trials which may have taken place in the Soviet Union in the course of the past two years, during a considerable part of which time His Majesty's Government had no relations with, nor diplomatic representation in, the territories of the Soviet Union.

How long is this farce of protesting going to continue—

Order, order!

Is not the right hon. Gentleman getting rather tired of having to make these various protests?

Such a good example was set me by the Government who were in office before.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the paragraph in the published criminal code of the Soviet Russian prisons that makes it obligatory for the prisoners to work on the production of merchandise; and whether he will call for a report from the British Ambassador as to the destination of this merchandise?

Article 34 of the Criminal Code provides that imprisonment is necessarily accompanied by labour which should, as far as possible, be made to conform with the special qualifications of the prisoner. I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by asking His Majesty's Ambassador for a report on the lines suggested by the hon. and gallant Member.

Seeing that these prisoners number something like 500,000, is it not important to find out where this merchandise goes to?

asked the First Commissioner of Works to whom the rent for the new British Embassy in Moscow is paid?

The rent is paid to the Central Bureau for Assistance to Foreigners.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that while the Government are paying a very high rent to this bureau, the real owners of the property are in very poor circumstances, and can he not see that they will get some of the money which the Government pay?

We pay the rent to the people who are entitled to get it.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this house has been taken away without compensation from the original owners?

I do not know anything about that.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make inquiries?

Certainly not.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the convention between this country and the Argentine Republic with regard to compensation for accidents to workmen has yet been ratified by either party?

The instrument of ratification has received His Majesty's signature, and is being sent to His Majesty's Ambassador at Buenos Aires for exchange against the corresponding Argentine ratification at the earliest possible moment.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is in a position to make any statement with regard to the present position of Afghanistan; whether British interests are at present represented there: and will he give particulars?

The situation in Afghanistan appears, according to my information, to be normal. Mr. Maconachie, His Majesty's Minister to Afghanistan, has been continuously at his post since the 11th of May last.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say what "normal" means in Afghanistan?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can now make a statement about the claim against the Chinese Government by Mr. Valpy, the engineer of the Canton-Hankow railway; and whether His Majesty's Government is arranging that there shall be a British engineer appointed to safeguard the interests of British subjects in this railway?

Representations have been made to the Chinese Government by His Majesty's Minister. The Chinese Minister of Railways has stated that the Loan Agreement has not been violated, that Mr. Valpy's engagement has been terminated for service reasons and on grounds of economy, and that arrangements are being made to pay him the arrears of salary due. The Minister of Railways added that the position of engineer-in-chief would be filled as soon as possible, and that a lower-salaried British engineer already in Chinese Government service might be transferred to Mr. Valpy's post.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inquire as to whether Mr. Valpy is satisfied with the settlement?

I might make such an inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Consular officers in China are instructed to give advice to missionaries and others with regard to travel or residence in the interior of China?

His Majesty's Consular officers in China have long had standing instructions to offer such advice to all British subjects in their respective districts as the situation demanded. Recently, His Majesty's Minister sent instructions to all Consular officers enjoining particular watchfulness at this time over the safety of British subjects in areas where dangerous conditions are likely to arise, and instructing them not to hesitate to advise in good time the withdrawal of missionaries and other British subjects from such areas.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will lay upon the Table of the House the British Memorandum on chemical warfare which was discussed the other day at Geneva by the Preparatory Commission for the Disarmament Conference?

Yes, Sir. I will arrange for the Memorandum to be laid on the Table of this House.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the cost to the taxpayer of experiments for defence against chemical warfare, he will consider whether arrangements can be concluded with other countries which, like ourselves, have renounced the use of gas as an offensive weapon for the pooling of information and of expenditure upon anti-gas research?

I fear that the adoption of this proposal would not be practicable at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the present position of the conversations with the French Government with regard to the Dead Sea concessions which were given to Mr. Moses Novamesky; and whether the question has now been brought before The Hague Tribunal?

As I informed my hon. Friend the Member for North Salford (Mr. Tillett) on the 16th of July, His Majesty's Government have informed the French Government that they are willing, subject to certain conditions, to refer this question to arbitration. Correspondence with the French Government has been proceeding, but I am unable at this stage to give further details.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say when this question is likely to be settled, or how much longer is it going to continue?

I am afraid that I cannot.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the reasons for the refusal to grant a visa to Abbas Pasha, ex-Khedive of Egypt, to land in England?

I have been asked to reply. I regret that it would not be in the public interest to state the reasons for the refusal of a visa in this case.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government are taking any steps against the traffic in slavery existing between Ethiopia and Arabia?

For years past two of His Majesty's sloops have been stationed in the Red Sea with a view to preventing the traffic in slaves from Africa to Arabia. A large number of dhows are searched every year.

Has the co-operation of other Governments been asked for in this matter, or are other Powers actually taking similar steps?

I must have notice of that question.

asked the Prime Minister whether he intends to make any further statement with regard to the Imperial Conference?

My right hon. Friend had not contemplated making any further statement as to the Imperial Conference. A full Summary of Proceedings of the Conference has already been laid before the House, and it is hoped that the Appendices to the Summary of Proceedings will be presented to Parliament very shortly.

Has the right hon. Gentleman's attention been called to the statement by the Prime Minister of Canada about the Canadian offer being contemptuously rejected—[ Interruption ].

asked the Prime Minister if his attention has been drawn to the Motion on the Order Paper in the name of the hon. and gallant Member for the Isle of Wight (Captain P. Macdonald) and others; and if he will give a day to discuss it.—

["That, in view of the recent pronouncement of the Prime Minister of the Dominion of Canada, that in his opinion in the existing conditions the proposed conference at Ottawa next year will be of no consequence, this House is of opinion that an immediate pronouncement of the policy of the Government is essential if inter-Imperial Relations are not to be greatly prejudiced."]

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to what the Prime Minister said in reply to a question by the hon. Member for South Kensington (Sir W. Davison) arising out of the statement which he made on Business on Thursday last.

Does the right hon. Gentleman propose to take any steps to wipe out the gross insult which he perpetrated last week?

rose —

I have already disallowed a similar question being put on the Paper.

asked the Minister of Pensions the estimated cost falling on the State if, in the case of an ex-service man marrying after the War and dying from his disability attributable to War service, his dependants were eligible for his pension and such pensions were made retrospective?

In the unavoidable absence of my right hon. Friend I have been asked to reply. The capital liability of the Ministry if wives, widows and children of post-discharge or post-injury, etc., marriages were to be placed on the same footing as those which are within the scope of the Royal Warrants is estimated at £105,000,000. If these pensions were granted with retrospective effect from date of entitlement, the Ministry's liability would be increased by at least another £45,000,000.

asked the Attorney-General whether claimants for pensions are accompanied at an appeal tribunal by their own medical advisers, or whether such medical advisers are consulted before a decision is arrived at?

I have been asked to reply. Appellants may be and frequently are accompanied by their medical advisers at the hearing of their appeals. In almost every case the appellant brings a certificate from his medical adviser which is carefully considered before the Tribunal gives its decision. In cases where the appellant fails to bring a certificate or the certificate is not sufficiently comprehensive, it is the usual practice of the Tribunals to adjourn the hearing until the information required is obtained from the medical adviser either by the appellant or with the consent of the appellant by the Tribunal.

Is it the fact that a claimant has the right to demand that his medical adviser shall be present? The right hon. and learned Gentleman said, "may be and frequently are accompanied," and the point I wish to elicit is whether he has a right to be accompanied by his medical adviser?

I should not like to say off-hand. It may be that there is no right in the strict legal sense of the term, but I believe that the invariable practice is to allow the appellant to be accompanied by his medical adviser if he so desires.

Will the Government, through the Ministry of Pensions, make it clear that claimants may ask that their medical advisers should be heard before the decision is given?

That seems to be a very reasonable suggestion, and I will convey it to my hon. and learned Friend.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department when he expects to receive the report from the Chelmsford Committee in connection with the future policy regarding trade exhibitions?

The report was published Command Paper on 3rd instant, and, as the right hon. Member has no doubt noticed, has received much prominence in the Press.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether he has receivd any reports from any trade representatives in Russia as to the trade activities of the Soviet Government; and what goods they are likely to place on the British market in the immediate future?

In regard to the first part of the question, such reports as I have received are based on information appearing in the official Soviet publications. In regard to the second part of the question, I regret I have no definite information.

What is the object of having trade representatives in Russia if we cannot get this information, which is urgently needed for our trade?

We are naturally collecting information which appears in the documents published by the Government; beyond that, we have no information.

Surely the hon. Gentleman's office could obtain documentary evidence without a trade representative?

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what arrangements the British Government have in Russia to ascertain the conditions under which goods placed upon the British market are prepared or manufactured in that country?

His Majesty's representative in the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, as in any other foreign country, transmits for publication such information on the subjects mentioned by the hon. Member as is publicly available.

Has our representative facilities for getting information in the same way as our representatives in other countries have?

Subject to the special conditions which obtain in Russia.

What are the special conditions?

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department if he will take steps to ascertain whether British manufacturers carrying on business in this country are permitted in any way to bring their products to the notice of the Russian people without the intervention of the Soviet Government?

No, Sir. Under the Soviet monopoly of foreign trade, manufacturers are only able to bring their products to the notice of the Russian people by one of the methods indicated in my replies to the hon. Member on the 17th and 24th November, and to the hon. and gallant Member for the Isle of Wight (Captain P. Macdonald) on the 24th November.

Cannot the hon. Gentleman indicate whether there is any liberty for British manufacturers to have their goods sold abroad without the intervention of the Soviet Government?

The only opportunity of selling goods in Russia is through one of the recognised organisations that are allowed by the Russian Government to import goods.

Is the hon. Gentleman satisfied that this rule is applied to the goods of other countries as it is to goods of British manufacture?

I must ask the right hon. Gentleman to put down a question about that.

Will the hon. Gentleman please inquire?

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what distribution has been arranged for the booklet dealing with the services of his Department; and whether trade and industry at large are submitting orders for the publication?

The booklet has been widely distributed among firms interested in export trade. The co-operation of commercial organisations, such as chambers of commerce, trade associations and banks, as well as that of the Press, has been enlisted. The number of copies for which requests have been received to date is 18,500.

Is this a new publication of recent months?

Yes, Sir.

Will the hon. Gentleman kindly send me a copy?

Yes.

Does the hon. Gentleman propose to send copies to Members of this House?

I shall be willing to do so if it is desired.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department how many Vice-Consuls are in the employment of the British Government; and what percentage of these are of British nationality?

There are 379 salaried consular officers, all of whom are of British nationality, and there are 522 unsalaried consular officers, of whom 371 are British subjects.

Is the hon. Gentleman taking steps, as far as he can, to eliminate foreigners from our foreign representatives abroad and to replace them by British subjects to act as Consuls and Vice-Consuls?

We always make certain that there is no suitable British representative available before we appoint a person of another nationality.

If we could get British subjects for that work, would it not be very much better, because they would take more interest in bringing work to this country?

That point has been recognised by both the present Government and past Governments, and the policy is the same in all cases.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if his attention has been called to the growing import of cheese into this country from foreign sources; and if any special measures are contemplated by his Department for the encouragement of increased cheese production in this country?

I am aware of a relatively small increase in the volume of imports of cheese into the United Kingdom, more than four-fifths of which are received from Empire countries. My Department has recently published a report, Economic Series No. 22, on the Marketing of Cheese in England and Wales, and it is now consulting the various interests concerned with a view to the introduction of a National Mark Scheme for cheese during 1931, which I am hopeful will stimulate the production of larger supplies of first quality cheese in this country.

Have the Government taken steps to secure that as far as possible any cheese imported into this country shall be Dominion or Colonial cheese, in preference to foreign cheese?

I have taken whatever steps we can take.

asked the Minister of Agriculture when he proposes to announce his plans for helping the cereal farmer?

I am unable at present to add anything to the reply which I gave on 17th November to questions on this subject by the hon. and gallant Member for Louth (Lieut.-Colonel Heneage) and the Noble Lord the Member for Aldershot (Viscount Wolmer).

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise the present emergency in the corn-growing district? Owing to the unsatisfactory nature of his reply, I beg to give notice that I shall take an early opportunity of raising this matter in the House.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the tendency to restrict the use of horse traffic in certain streets in various towns throughout the country, he will investigate the serious reaction that such Orders must necessarily have upon the horse-breeding industry of this country?

My hon. Friend, the Minister of Transport, has no knowledge of the existence of a tendency to restrict by Orders the use of horse-drawn traffic in streets and, in these circumstances, the second part of the question does not arise. If, however, the hon. and gallant Member can give any specific instances of such Orders my hon. Friend will be glad to receive particulars.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is able to make a statement as to the present position concerning facilities for the use of a broadcasting station for the transmission of television and/or the broadcasting of wireless pictures?

Under an arrangement made between the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Baird Television Company, television and speech are broadcast simultaneously on two different wave-lengths during a period of half-an-hour each weekday from the Brookman's Park station. Still pictures were broadcast experimentally for many months, but the arrangement has now been discontinued.

Is it proposed to extend the facilities for broadcasting these pictures?

No, Sir, not in the immediate future.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the Covent Garden Opera Syndicate, 1930, is a commercial company trading for profits; and whether any distribution by way of dividend or bonus will be limited by the agreement entered into?

The articles of association of the Covent Garden Opera Syndicate (1930) Limited provide that any profits of the company shall be applied for its general purposes and shall not be distributed to the shareholders.

Has the hon. Gentleman any information to the effect that the Covent Garden Syndicate lost £30,000 in a few weeks last year?

asked the Postmaster-General whether he can say if any of the directors of the British Broadcasting Corporation will be directors of the new organisation to which the opera subsidy is to be paid; and, if so, which and at what salary?

The British Broadcasting Corporation, through its holding of shares in the opera company, will be in a position to appoint directors, but I understand it is not their intention at present to make such appointments. The articles of association of the new company provide that no remuneration shall be paid to the directors other than managing directors.

Will the hon. Gentleman see to it that there shall be nothing of what the Chancellor of the Exchequer so courteously described as "guinea pig directors" about this company?

Are not the directors of the British Broadcasting Corporation at present directors of the other company?