asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that a circular has recently been issued by the Commissioner of Police of Bombay prohibiting statements or other news of the activities of any bodies declared unlawful by Government; whether he has received a copy of a resolution passed unanimously by Bombay journalists pro- testing against this; and whether he will consider the advisability of withdrawing the circular?

I understand from the Press that the Commissioner of Police issued not a prohibition but a warning to newspapers as to the publication of matter designed to assist the operations of unlawful associations.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he proposes to renew the Press ordinances which have recently lapsed?

My hope, of course, is that it will not be necessary for the Governor-General to revive the powers granted by the Press ordinances.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he will supply the figures showing the total value of property that has been confiscated from political prisoners in India since the beginning of the non-co-operative movement?

If my hon. Friend would kindly frame a rather more specific question, I will give him what relevant information is in my possession.

asked the Secretary of State for India the number of cases of maternity among women political prisoners in India during the past few months, and the number of children that died shortly after birth?

I have no information, but am inquiring whether any such cases have occurred.

asked the Secretary of State for India the total number of persons in gaol in India because of association with unlawful assemblies; how many of these are men; how many are women; how many are Hindus; how many are Moslems; and how many are under 16 years of age?

I have asked the Government of India for these figures, and will communicate with my hon. Friend on receipt of their reply.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether Soviet broadcasting of material adverse to the interests of this country is employed in India; and, if so, on what lines?

I have no information that any broadcasting of this nature has been attempted.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the fact that the accommodation and facilities for the training of the young offender committed to His Majesty's Prison at Malton, Liverpool, are inadequate, he will take steps to secure an early improvement?

The accommodation and arrangements for employment at Liverpool Prison are not worse than at other prisons, but no general prison which receives prisoners of all types and all ages can be made suitable for the training of young offenders. The objections to the imprisonment of young people cannot be removed by any alterations of the structure or arrangements of such prisons, and the line of progress is the adoption wherever practicable of alternatives to imprisonment as indicated in the Home Office circular letter of 20th July, 1928, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.

asked the Home Secretary, in view of the petitions he has received asking for the early release of the Irish political prisoners, Breen and Gavin, what action he proposes to take in the matter?

My right hon. Friend has had these cases before him, but he regrets that he is unable at present to add anything to his previous statements.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the decision of the High Court prohibiting public entertainments or amusements on Sundays; and whether it is the intention of the Government to introduce legislation?

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to a decision given in the King's Bench in connection with the opening of cinemas on Sunday; and, if so, whether he will consider the advisability of introducing a short Bill to legalise the Sunday opening of cinemas?

I understand that the London County Council have been allowed 14 days within which to appeal, and my hon. Friend will appreciate that my right hon. Friend is unable to make any statement until the question of appeal has been disposed of.

asked the Home Secretary if he will give a list showing the number of Arab seamen in this country and the number in each county borough and administrative county area, respectively, distinguishing between those who are of British nationality and those who are not?

I have not thought it necessary to call for a return from every police force, but I have obtained figures for the areas where Arab seamen chiefly congregate, as follow:

I have no information in regard to persons of Arab descent who are British subjects.

asked the Home Secretary which Powers have not as yet signed and which have not as yet ratified either the Opium Convention at The Hague, 1912, or the Opium Convention at Geneva, 1925; and what are the respective functions of the Opium Advisory Committee of the League of Nations and the Permanent Central Opium Board?

As regards the first part of the question, a list is appended. As regards the second part, the function of the Advisory Committee is to assist and advise the Council of the League in dealing with questions connected with the traffic in opium and other dangerous drugs, the general supervision of which is entrusted to the League by Article 23 of the Treaty of Peace; and the function of the Permanent Central Board is to carry out certain duties which are specified in Chapter VI of the Geneva Convention of 1925. The main duty of the Board is to watch the course of the international trade, and for this purpose it receives from the parties to the Convention, and examines, statistics of production, imports, exports, etc. In cases where it appears to the Board that there is a danger of a country becoming a centre of the illicit traffic, it is empowered by the Convention to take certain action.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in any future statistical returns of unemployment figures, she will give each county in Wales separately instead of the details of some and grouping the rest together as was done in the recent circular, No. 47?

Separate figures for five counties are given in the local unemployment index, and these include about 512,000 insured persons out of a total of 583,000 in Wales. Having regard to expense my right hon. Friend would prefer to make no change but, if there was a substantial reason for further figures to be given, she would be glad to give the matter careful consideration.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) the number of work schemes in operation in the county of Derby; the number of men employed; the total cost of these schemes; and what proportion is borne by the local authorities;

(2) the number of work schemes which are under consideration for the county of Derby but which have not yet received approval;

(3) the number of work schemes which have been approved for the county of Derby but which have not yet been started?

On 31st October there were 46 schemes, the total cost of which is estimated at £681,070, employing 1,260 men, in operation in the county of Derby with assistance from various grant-making Departments. In addition there are 30 schemes approved but not yet commenced, and 49 schemes under consideration. These figures are not exhaustive, but are compiled from such records as are readily available. The proportion of the cost falling on the grant-making authorities varies widely with the nature of each scheme.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed persons in Manchester on the last con-

asked the Minister of Labour whether she is aware that a grant towards the erection of public wash-houses in Hull has been refused; and whether, in view of the large amount of unemployment in that city, she will endeavour to obtain a grant towards that work?

The scheme submitted by the Kingston-upon-Hull Corporation for the erection of a public wash-house, estimated to cost £20,000, has been considered by the Unemployment Grants Committee, and in their view the work is not sufficiently accelerated to warrant a grant being recommended. The authority have asked that the matter be reconsidered and officers of the Unemployment Grants Committee are receiving a deputation from the council in the latter part of this week to discuss the matter.

venient date, and their distribution according to trades?

The following table gives an industrial analysis of the insured males and females recorded as unemployed in the Manchester area* at 24th November, 1930, including those recorded in the "two months file":

asked the Postmaster-General the number of full-time adult employés in the Post Office who receive pay, including the cost-of-living bonus, amounting to not more than 60s. a week and not more than 50s. a week respectively?

Approximately 44,600 full-time employés 21 years of age or over are in receipt of pay, including cost-of-living bonus, amounting to not more than 60s. a week, and of these approximately 18,100 are in receipt of not more than 50s. a week.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of villages in Durham that have had telephones installed in the 12 months ending October, 1930; and the corresponding figures for October, 1929, October, 1928, and October, 1927?

The figures are as follow:—

asked the Postmaster-General whether the Department was consulted before the subsidy granted by the Treasury to the Covent Garden Opera Syndicate, 1930, was arranged?

The answer is in the affirmative.

asked the Postmaster-General by what individuals or organisations the proposal to subsidise grand opera was initiated; and whether he will publish such correspondence or other papers as will make clear upon what arguments the case for the subsidy, in the form projected, is founded?

His Majesty's Government are responsible for the proposal, and on a suitable occasion I shall be prepared to state the arguments justifying the grant.

asked the Postmaster-General whether in so far as the proposed grant of public money to a new opera syndicate is intended to develop the presentation of grand opera in the provinces it is proposed to co-operate with the Carl Rosa Company?

This is not, I am afraid, a matter which I can conveniently deal with in a Parliamentary reply. No part of the Government or British Broadcasting Corporation grant will be paid to the Carl Rosa Company.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, having regard to the work which the organisers of the annual National Mod of Scotland have done, and are doing, for the musical education of the Scottish people and for the encouragement of Highland and Hebridean music, he will consider the question of making an annual grant to the said organisers on similar lines to the grant which he has promised to make for the encouragement of grand opera in England?

My right hon. Friend is afraid the hon. Member's suggestion is one that he could not entertain.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is in a position to state what considerations have hitherto influenced the British Government, and still influence them, in withholding from the Northern Frontier Province and the Turkana Province of Kenya Colony the status of native reserves, seeing that they are in purely native occupation?

The Northern Frontier Province and the Turkana Province have been declared "closed districts" under the Outlying Districts Ordinance, Kenya Laws, Chapter 26. Thus, no person may enter other than natives of the Provinces, Government officers or persons acting under the orders of the Governor in the course of their duty, and persons holding a licence granted under the Ordinance. The question of declaring these two Provinces as native reserves has not arisen, so far as my Noble Friend the Secretary of State for the Colonies is aware, except in so far as the Government of Kenya have under consideration the possibility of selecting a particular area in the Northern Frontier Province as a reserve for the Samburu.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if his attention has been drawn to the fact of a number of workers employed as miners in the Ariston gold mines in Bestea, Gold Coast, being shot by some Europeans who were also employed in the same company; and if he will make a statement on the case?

It is understood that a number of African employés attacking the quarters of a European timekeeper were fired upon by other European employés and eight were wounded. An inquiry into the affair is being conducted by the District Commissioner in accordance with the law of the Colony, and the proceedings and finding will be con- sidered by my Noble Friend when they reach him. A statement will be made as soon as a decision has been taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the quantity and value produced in Scotland in the year 1929 of the following articles separately: wheat, oats, barley, milk and milk pro-

Certain figures as to quantities are available for the year 1929: viz., wheat, 58,000 tons; barley, 101,000 tons; and oats, 755,000 tons. The numbers of poultry on agricultural holdings above' one acre in extent were as follows:

No statistics are available regarding the production in 1929 of eggs, milk, milk products or meat.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that damage to agricultural crops and wood-lands is being caused in various parts

ducts, poultry, eggs, beef, mutton and lamb, and bacon, ham, and pork?

Estimates of the value of agricultural produce in Scotland are not made annually. The last occasion was in connection with the Census of Agricultural Production taken in 1925 and the following figures (covering both quantities and value) are abstracted from "The Agricultural Output of Scotland, 1925" (Cmd. 3191); some of the figures have been revised since the publication of this report, and in these cases the revised figures are given.

of this country by grey squirrels originally introduced here from America; and whether he will, in the interests of agriculture, discourage the practice of distributing grey squirrels which has been followed in certain cases?

The damage caused by grey squirrels has already been brought to my notice, and I am at present considering what steps can usefully be taken to give publicity to information regarding their habits, distribution and destructiveness, and the necessity for their control. I am aware that grey squirrels have, on occasions, been distributed with the intention of adding to the amenities of districts, but I am sure that it is only necessary to call attention to the destructive habits of this animal to ensure the co-operation of those concerned in an endeavour to prevent any further distribution.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has any figures to show the extent to which farmers in East Sussex have benefited by the low price of grain, peas, and beans?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been called to advertisements in 2s. books of stamps, issued by the Post Office, for the encouragement of Danish bacon; and whether his Department has made any representations to the authority concerned in the acceptance of those advertisements, with a view to the discontinuance of this publicity for foreign produce?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I am in consultation with the Postmaster-General as to the practicability of excluding such advertisements in the interest of British agriculture.

I am afraid that the figures asked for by my hon. Friend are not in my possession.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he has any data showing what proportion of farmers in England are occupying owners, tenant farmers, and smallholders, respectively?

I regret that I am unable to furnish the information asked for in the Noble Lord's question. The following table, however, gives in summary form the results of an inquiry made from occupiers of agricultural holdings of over one acre in extent in England and Wales in 1927, when each occupier was asked to state whether he owned his holding.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he will give in tabular form the excess of exports over imports in the trade of Germany and the United States of America with Soviet Russia, omitting re-exports, for each year from 1924;

(2) whether he will give in tabular form the excess of imports over exports in our trade with Soviet Russia, leaving out re-exports, for each year from 1924?

The following statement, based on the official trade returns of the respective countries, shows the excess of imports over exports or of exports over imports in the trade of Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom with the Soviet Union (Russia), during each of the years 1924 to 1929.

Notes .—(1) The particulars for imports relate to total imports from the Soviet Union in the case of the United States and the United Kingdom, and to imports for consumption in the case of Germany. For exports, the particulars relate to domestic produce, re-exports being excluded.

(2) Conversions to sterling have been made at the annual average rates of exchange for 1924 and 1925 and at the par rates for 1926 to 1929.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department what is the present liability of the Exchequer in respect of trade credits arising out of commercial transactions which have been entered into by British firms with the Soviet Government?

No, Sir. It is not the practice to give the amount of liability current under the Export Credits Guarantee Scheme on any particular country.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what are the numbers of hired men borne on the books of His Majesty's dockyards at Devonport with more than 10 years' service between 40 and 50 years of age; and will he consider the advisability of placing these men on the establishment before reaching the age of 50 years?

The number in all industrial establishments at Devonport is 1,856. It would not be possible to make such a large addition to the established list.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what part of the construction work in connection with the 1930–31 Naval Programme he proposes to allocate to the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham?

The following vessels of the 1930–31 Naval Programme have been allocated to Chatham Dockyard:

1 Net Layer and Target Towing Vessel.

2 Submarines.

1 Sloop.

asked the Attorney-General the number of members of the pensions appeal tribunal; and whether they are all members of the medical profession?

The constitution of the tribunals and the qualifications of the members are set out in the Schedule to the War Pensions (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1919, and the War Pensions Act, 1921, Section 4 (3). At the present time there are five salaried members of tribunals (one legal, two medical and two Service members). Other members as and when required are drawn from a panel of duly qualified persons.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the difficulties of travelling showmen in respect of the limitation in the number of trailers under the Road Traffic Act, seeing that they in some instances, under the Public Health Act, have to draw two living carriages, one for the showman and his wife and the other for their children; that, as the Road Traffic Act at present stands, they will be com- pelled to buy at least one or two extra lorries per head, thus adding to the number of vehicles on the road; and whether he will amend the Regulations so as to remove their grievance?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to a similar question asked by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Hull, Central (Lieut.-Commander Kenworthy) on Wednesday, 3rd December, a copy of which I am sending to him.

asked the Minister of Health the number of persons in receipt of Poor Law relief in the City of Plymouth, specifying categories for the month of November, 1930?

The following statement shows the number of persons in receipt of poor relief in the City of Plymouth on Saturday, 29th November, 1930.

asked the President of the Board of Education the number of schools now on the black list, and the number of these which have been deprived of recognition for grant?

The number of public elementary schools now on the "black list" is 1,672. Out of the 2,827 schools originally on the list, 289 have been either closed or replaced by alternative accommodation, while in the case of 866 others the defects have now been removed. All public elementary schools are in receipt of grant.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been drawn to the protest made by Hungarian Members of the Parliament of Czechoslovakia against the manner in which the recent census was taken in the Hungarian-speaking parts of the country, to the effect that Hungarians were forcibly compelled to register themselves as Czechs; and whether the attention of the Council of the League of Nations has been called to the incident, in view of the obligations imposed by the minority treaties on Czechoslovakia?

I understand from the Press that a census was to be held last week in Czechoslovakia, and that the Hungarian minority is addressing a petition to the League of Nations on the manner in which it was conducted. I have not yet, however, received any official confirmation of these reports.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that complaints have recently been made as to the treatment accorded to the Ukrainian minority in Poland in violation of the obligations imposed upon that country by the minority treaties; whether he will make inquiries as to such complaints; and, if he is satisfied that they are well founded, will he, having regard to the right conferred by the minority treaties upon the members of the council of the League, take steps to call the attention of the council to the breaches of the minority treaties in respect of which such complaints are made?

Yes, Sir. As already stated, I am aware of these complaints, and I am at present considering a report on the matters to which they refer. In view of the probability that petitions from members of the minority concerned will be submitted direct by them to the League of Nations, it would, in my opinion, be premature to consider the advisability of His Majesty's Government taking action in the sense suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Germany has made representations as to difficulties in paying reparations as prescribed by the Young Plan; and, if so, what steps have been taken in respect of any such representations?

I have been asked to reply. No, Sir, the German Government have made no representations on the subject. The second part of the question, therefore, does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is prepared to introduce legislation with a view to preventing members of licensing benches from carrying out repairs or alterations in those premises for which they have power to grant or refuse such licence?

As my hon. Friend is aware, a Royal Commission is inquiring into the Licensing Laws of Scotland, and the question he raises would fall to be considered in connection with any general legislation for the amendment of the Scottish Licensing Laws?