asked the. President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will provide an estimate of the value of lace and embroidery, of kinds previously subjected to duty, which has been imported from abroad by parcel post since 30th June, 1930;(2) whether any record is kept of the imports by parcel post of goods on which the Safeguarding Duty has lapsed; whether he will supply an estimate of the value of the imports by parcel post of lace and embroidery since 30th June, 1930, and of cutlery, leather gloves, fabric gloves and gas mantles since 21st December, 1930; and whether, if no record is kept, he will take steps to have such record kept in future?

I regret that I am unable to furnish an estimate of the value of the imports by parcel post of those goods which were formerly subject to Safeguarding Duties. Under existing arrangements, imports by parcel post of goods not liable to duty are not classified for the purpose of statistics and only particulars of the total number of such parcels (and their approximate value) are available. It would not be practicable to set up special machinery to obtain separate records of imported parcels containing goods which are not liable to duty, but were formerly chargeable with a Safeguarding Duty which has lapsed.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department the total amount of export credits granted to exporters of goods to Russia since the Government took office; and if, in addition, he can show how much is applicable to the following classes of goods: textile machinery, raw wool, wool tops, woollen and worsted yarns, and woollen and worsted tissues and mixtures?

The face value of contracts entered into under the Export Credits Guarantee Scheme in respect of exports to Russia from the 10th June, 1929, to 17th January, 1931, was £5,252,591. I regret that I am unable to reply to the second part of the question.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number, respectively, of warrant officers, petty officers, leading rates, able-seamen, signal and wireless telegraph ratings between the ages of 21 and 25 who were eligible for the 1930 annual selection for mate; the number of candidates; and the number awarded commissions?

I regret that the information asked for in the first part of the question is not available. Seven candidates were recommended by the Fleet selection committees. One of these, however, was ineligible for selection on account of his being considerably over the upper age limit. The remaining six were selected for acting mate.

asked the Minister of Health haw many rabbits have been used in the preparation and production of vaccine lymph at the Government lymph establishment for each year since rabbits were first used for this purpose; and what is done with them after the experiments have been completed?

Between 100 and 200 rabbits are used annually for the purposes indicated in the question. The rabbits are killed as soon as these purposes have been fulfilled.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will consider arranging for the removal of Mrs. Olive Wise, of Walthamstow, from Holloway Gaol to some private maternity home during the period of her confinement; whether he will give further sympathetic consideration to her case, with a view to her early release from prison; whether he will give consideration to the present state of the law, with a view to its modification, so that in future any female prisoner who is convicted of murder should not be sentenced to death if it is proved that she is pregnant; and will he consider whether any amendment of the existing law is necessary to enable judges to assess the responsibility of the man in such cases and to ensure that where such responsibility is proved the woman will not be forced to bear all the punishment?

As my hon. Friend is aware, the sentence of death in this case has already, on the recommendation of my right hon. Friend, been commuted to penal servitude, and in due course my right hon. Friend will consider very carefully whether, having regard to all the circumstances, he would be justified in recommending further clemency. He is advised that there is no power to order the removal of Mrs. Wise to a private maternity home during the period of her confinement. Proper provision is made in prison for the treatment of such prisoners and for their necessary care. With regard to the third part of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday in answer to a question by the hon. Member for Devonport (Mr. Hore-Belisha). The last part of the question raises considerations of a far reaching character with which it is impossible to deal within the limits of an answer to a question, and my right hon. Friend will write to my hon. Friend in the matter.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to a sentence which was recently passed by a magistrate at Dorchester on Stephen Bennis, under which the prisoner was sentenced to a month's imprisonment for throwing a, packet of tobacco into the prison; and whether he will make an inquiry into the circumstances of the case?

My right hon. Friend has made inquiry and finds that the man in question, immediately on release from a previous sentence, bought two ounces of tobacco and threw it over the prison wall into the exercise ground. He was prosecuted and sentenced as stated. The penalty provided by statute for improperly introducing tobacco into any prison is imprisonment not exceeding six months, or a fine not exceeding £20, or both.