Written Answers
Mutton Imports (Inspection)
asked the Minister of Health on what grounds it was agreed at a recent conference held in his Department that a relaxation should be made in the methods of inspection of mutton imported from Australia for caseous lymphadenitis, and that in future only 5 per cent. of Australian carcases should be examined instead of 10 per cent. as formerly?
At the conference which was recently held between port medical officers of health and officers of my Department, it was reported that during the past year there had been a substantial improvement in the condition of mutton and lamb carcases from Australia. It was, therefore, considered that the normal routine percentage examination of carcases from this source might safely be reduced from 10 to 5 per cent. The arrangement is intended to operate for six months, after which it may be reviewed; it does not of course affect the obligation on the officers of the port, authority to make whatever further inspections may appear in any particular case to be desirable on grounds of public health.
asked the Minister of Health the number of imported mutton carcases forwarded, respectively, from the ports of London and Southampton to the urban sanitary areas of Reading, Northampton and Cambridge during the months of November and December last, with notifications that the same awaited inspection for the disease of caseous lymphadenitis; how many were examined at those centres, respectively; and what proportion was seized and condemned?
My right hon. Friend will have inquiries made and let my hon. Friend know the result.
asked the Minister of Health, in view of the fact that a recent consignment of imported mutton from South America was landed at Southampton and 10 per cent. of the consignment examined by the port sanitary authority of that place, with the result that about 1 per cent. of the consignment was condemned for caseous lymphadenitis, and that part of the consignment was afterwards forwarded to a cold store in the City of London and examined in detail by the City authorities, with the result that a greater percentage of the consignment was condemned, whether he will say to what other centres besides the City of London were consignments made from the same shipment of mutton; whether any of the other authorities also made detailed inspections of the goods, and what proportion was condemned; and whether, as the whole system of inspection against disease has broken down and many infected joints are sold to the public weekly, he will at once set up a Departmental Committee to take evidence on the matter and devise methods whereby the evasions existing at present may be adequately coped with?
My right hon. Friend will have inquiries made with regard to the particular case to which my hon. Friend refers. My right hon. Friend does not, however, agree that the system of inspection has broken down, nor does it appear to him that a Departmental Committee on the subject is required.
Liberia (Slave Traffic)
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to the allegation made in the League of Nations Commission's Report on Slavery in Liberia that the reputation of good administration in British Colonies in West Africa has been used to decoy African natives on to ships calling at Liberian ports, and that these natives are then enslaved with the connivance of the Liberian authorities; whether he will cause a special inquiry to be made into this point; and whether steps will be taken to warn captains of ships that they should do their utmost to prevent this form of slave traffic?
I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply returned by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to a similar question put by the hon. Member for Blackley (Mr. P. Oliver) on 27th January.
China
British Consul, Urga
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether His Majesty's Government have appointed, or intend to appoint, a consul at Urga, Outer Mongolia?
No such appointment has been made or is contemplated. The reasons against making such an appointment were set out in my reply to a question by the hon. Member for West Belfast (Mr. Allen) on 11th November, 1929, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy. These reasons are equally applicable to the present situation.
Boxer Indemnity
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when information will be issued as to arrangements made by other countries in dealing with the Chinese Boxer indemnity; and what was the reply given by the signatories to the Washington Treaty, 1922, when informed that preferential treatment was to be accorded to Great Britain in the purchase of railway and other material?
The information for which the right hon. Gentleman asks in the first part of the question is appended. With regard to the second part of the question, no communication has been received on this subject from any of the signatories to the Washington Treaty, to whom the text of the settlement was sent in November last.
China Indemnity
Action taken by other Powers.
United States of America.
By President's Executive Order of December, 1908, nearly one-half of the original Indemnity is returned to the Chinese Government after payment for the maintenance of Tsinghua College and its allied activities (i.e., scholarships for Chinese in the United States of America). In 1924, by an Act of Congress, the United States Government decided to remit the remaining balance as from 1st October, 1917, to be applied, at the discretion of the President, to educational and cultural purposes. President's Executive Order was issued on 16th July, 1925, and a Board consisting of 10 Chinese and five United States citizens was created to administer the funds, which are spent partly in China and partly in the United States of America.
Japan.
By the Japanese law promulgated on 30th March, 1923, the balance of the Indemnity was definitely set aside for joint cultural and educational objects. It was proposed to devote one-half to immediate objects and the other half to the formation of a sinking fund, the interest from which will be available later on for a permanent endowment. Control of the funds is vested in a special Bureau of Cultural Works functioning under the Japanese Foreign Office; but there is also a central consultative committee in China with a maximum membership of 21, 11 of whom are Chinese.
France.
By agreement signed on 12th April, 1925, between the Chinese Government (Peking) and the French Government, the total amount due every month on account of the French Indemnity is paid to a body now known as the Banque Franco-Chinoise pour le commerce et l'industrie. The money is then used for the service of the 5 per cent. Gold Dollar Loan raised in 1925, redeemable in 23 years, the bonds of which were handed to the Far Eastern creditors of the former Banque Industrielle. Under the 1925 arrangement a small percentage of the total indemnity was to be paid over in grants to Sino-French educational or philanthropic institutions.
Belgium.
An arrangement was reached on 8th December, 1927, by which monthly instalments of the Indemnity payable from April, 1928, were to be used for the following purposes:
75 per cent. to be devoted to railway construction and improvement in China;
25 per cent. to be dispensed by a Sino-Belgian Commission for education and philanthropic purposes. Further details are given in "The China Year Book 1929–30," pp. 668–9, where it is stated that the railway material was to be purchased in Belgium.
Italy.
By an agreement reached between the Italian and Chinese (Peking) Governments on 1st October, 1925, it was decided in principle that a Sino-Italian Indemnity Commission was to administer the outstanding balance of the Indemnity and was to apply it to works of education and philanthropy, as well as to enterprises of public utility for which the materials were to be purchased in Italy.
Netherlands.
No arrangement has yet been made, but a proposal for conservancy work has been put forward.
Russia.
When China entered the War in 1917, Russia deferred insisting on payment of one-third of her total annual Indemnity. In 1920 the other two-thirds was devoted by the Chinese Government to repayment of bank advances and later to the redemption service of certain Chinese domestic loans. From 1922 the "deferred" balance was also pledged as security for a loan and also for note issues to finance the upkeep of China's diplomatic and consular services, and the current expenses of certain Government educational institutions in Peking. The validity of these and subsequent dispositions was recognised by a declaration appended to the agreement between the Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of 31st May, 1924. By this declaration a special com mission, consisting of two Chinese and one Soviet citizen, was to be appointed to allocate and administer, for the promotion of education among the Chinese,
the funds available from the waived Indemnity after all prior obligations have been satisfied.
Other countries.
The only Indemnities which are still payable on the original lines are those for Spain, Portugal, Sweden and Norway; but these are insignificant in amount.
Russia
Debts, Claims And Counter Claims
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the names of the British representatives of committees A and B for the settlement of Anglo-Soviet debt claims; and the functions to be allotted to the further committees which are being set up?
I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member for the Isle of Wight (Captain Macdonald) on 26th January.
Labour Conditions
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the continued charges of slavery which are made against Russia, he will approach the League of Nations to institute an inquiry into the matter in the same way as was recently done in the case of Liberia?
I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply given by my hon. Friend on Monday last to the hon. and gallant Member for Handsworth (Commander Locker-Lampson).
Agriculture
Wheat (Price Stabilisation)
asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether the Government have been advised of the representations made to the Government of Canada by the Russian Soviet Government with a view to co-operation in stabilising the price of wheat; and what is the nature of this proposal and the attitude of the British Government?
The answer to the first part of the question is: No. The second part, therefore, does not arise.
Sugar-Beet Factories (Effluent)
asked the Minister of Agriculture whether means have yet been found for rendering innocuous and non-polluting the effluent from sugar-beet factories; and whether all such factories are now using satisfactory means to purify their effluents?
I am advised that the greater part of the water used in the process of manufacturing beet sugar can be circulated and used again throughout the campaign, thus avoiding its daily discharge from the factory, and that so much of it as cannot be re-used can be so treated that its subsequent discharge into a stream is unlikely to do harm. I am not in a position to give a comprehensive answer to the second part of the question. It is within my knowledge that certain factories are employing satisfactory methods of avoiding pollution, and I understand that there has been some improvement in others.
Royal Navy
Aircraft
asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the present number of aeroplanes available for service with the fleets of the United States, Japan, and Great Britain, respectively?
The present number of aircraft available for service with the British Fleet is 142. Accurate figures showing the aircraft available for service with the United States and Japanese Fleets are not known, and cannot therefore be given, but from published information available it is estimated that the number for United States is 255, excluding 51 first line aircraft, which with their crews are carried in fleet tenders, and excluding also the shore based aircraft of the United States Naval Air Service.
Greenwich Hospital Charity
asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will reconsider the case of Frederick J. Dayton, of 16, Levington Street, Grimsby, now a patient in the Grimsby institution infirmary, with a view to some portion of this man's Greenwich Hospital gratuity being paid to his wife, who has no other means of maintaining herself and her five children?
Under the regulations governing the Greenwich Hospital Charity, pensions derived from the charity are not payable while the pensioner is maintained in a rate-aided institution, and I regret that no part of Mr. Dayton's pension is therefore available for payment to his wife. Should Mr. Dayton desire, the question of the admission of his children to homes to be maintained at the expense of Greenwich Hospital Funds would receive consideration.
Royal Air Force
Meat Ration
asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the reasons for basing in the future the value of the meat ration at Royal Air Force home stations on frozen-beef prices, and if any financial saving is expected from this procedure; and why no extra credit can be allowed to compensate for the higher cost of mutton when purchased for units?
There has been no change of existing practice; the hon. and gallant Member possibly has a recent order on the subject of ration issues in mind but this order merely re-stated that practice. The standard ration is frozen beef. On one day each week units may draw mutton instead of beef to the equivalent money value.
Low-Flying (Live-Stock)
asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether his attention has been called to the loss and damage to valuable stock by low-flying aeroplanes on manœuvres last year; and whether he will in future cause notices to be issued to stock owners so that they can shut up their in-calf mares and cows in any area where low flying may take place and compensate them for unavoidable damage?
The Royal Air Force regulations prohibiting low and dangerous flying contain a special warning to avoid flying low over stock during the breeding season, and these orders are very strictly enforced. The hon. and gallant Member will appreciate that the rules have necessarily to be relaxed in certain respects under the special conditions of the annual air exercises. Advance publicity as to the areas probably affected is, however, usually given in the Press, and very few cases of actual loss of live-stock during such exercises do in fact arise. The suggestions in the last part of the question will be borne in mind, but the issue of warning notices specially designed for the purpose in question would obviously present a good deal of practical difficulty in view of the wide and ill-defined areas involved, and might only cause inconvenience to farmers out of all proportion to the actual risk.
Kenya (Harry Thuku)
asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is now in a position to make a statement with regard to the re-instatement of Harry Thuku, of the Kikuyu tribe in Kenya?
The case of Harry Thuku has recently been carefully reviewed by the Government of Kenya, and, as a result, the Acting Governor has provisionally suspended the order of deportation. Thuku arrived in the Kiambu Native Reserve on 6th January.
Grand Opera (Subsidy)
asked the Postmaster-General whether, having regard to the condition of our national financial and industrial position, he is now prepared to withdraw the proposal of the Government to give a State subsidy to grand opera?
The answer is in the negative.
Nursery Schools, Scotland
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether there have been any additions to the number and accommodation of nursery schools in Scotland or changes in average attendance and cost since his reply in the House of Commons on 18th February, 1930; and whether he can give figures of the numbers of day nurseries and child gardens maintained or aided by local authorities under maternity and child-welfare schemes, the number of children accommodated, the average attendance, and cost?
There have been certain additions to the supply of nursery school accommodation since my reply of 18th February, 1930. The Scottish Education Department are now aware of the existence of 25 nursery schools in Scotland, nine conducted by education authorities, 15 under voluntary management and one conducted by a provincial committee for the training of teachers. I regret that more recent figures as to average attendance and cost are not available at present. The information available to the Department of Health for Scotland indicates that there are over 50 day nurseries and child gardens, providing accommodation for about 1,500 children, maintained or aided under maternity and child welfare schemes. The Department's information, which is not necessarily complete, is based on approvals given by them under the grant arrangements in force till 15th May last and includes institutions known to have been provided since that date. I regret that figures of average attendance and cost are not available.
Naval And Military Pensions And Grants
asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that, as a consequence of the increase in unemployment, the present scale of assessment for invalided ex-service men is not comparable in value to the same assessment when these men were attested and unemployment was not so general; and if he will consider a change in the scale of assessment to meet the legitimate claims of the ex-service invalided pensioners?
The award of disability pension is uniformly based solely on the degree of physical disablement, as medically determined, which results from the effects of an injury, ailment or disease assignable to war service. It would be a breach of this principle, which has been consistently upheld by Parliament, and would not generally be in the best interests of pensioners, that the grant or the amount of pension should be determined by the state of the labour market, or by other factors of an economic kind. I am, therefore, unable to recommend a change in the basis of assessment, but I would remind the hon. Member that the scale of payment has been stabilised at a rate which was introduced in 1919 when the cost of living was much higher than at present.
Unemployment
Exchange Accommodation, North Kent
asked the Minister of Labour if anything has been decided regarding alternative accommodation for the Erith Employment Exchange; whether any plans are in hand for a permanent building; and whether these will include shelter for applicants?
An offer of alternative temporary accommodation is at present under consideration. Pending this consideration, plans for a permanent building would be premature.
asked the Minister of Labour if she is aware of the need for an Employment Exchange to cater for workers of both sexes at Crayford, Welling, Bexley Heath, Barnehurst, and Bexley; and whether, in view of the rapid growth of this area and the approaching end of the tenure at Erith, she will consider this need?
I am having inquiry made, and will communicate with my hon. Friend.
Insurance (Women, Canteens)
asked the Minister of Labour what classes of female employés in the canteens of the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes are insurable under the Unemployment Insurance Acts?
The great majority of these employés are in the same position as female employés in members clubs, and in the main are not insurable. Such of them as are insurable include certain warehouse workers and a few others who in total comprise only a small proportion of the female staff.
Waterworks, Rochdale
asked the Minister of Labour if she has any information as to how many persons are employed on the Rochdale water scheme as a result of the Rochdale Corporation Act, 1930; and what amount of money has been advanced from the Exchequer?
At the 19th December last, 208 men were employed on the construction of additional waterworks undertaken by the Rochdale Town Council, with the aid of a grant from Exchequer Funds approved under Part II of the Development (Loan Guarantees and Grants) Act, 1929. No application for payment of any instalment of the grant has yet been received from the town council.
Work Schemes
asked the Minister of Labour particulars of the different categories of the 86,000 persons at present directly engaged on work on schemes approved on or after 1st June, 1929, and how such particulars have been compiled; and the average duration of such schemes, including separately the road schemes made in accordance with five-year plans?
Returns received by my Department showed the following numbers of men directly engaged on 19th December on the schemes indicated:
| Nature of scheme and number of men directly employed on 19th December, 1930. | |
| Work of improvement and new construction on classified roads and bridges assisted by Ministry of Transport | 24,693 |
| Schemes assisted by the Unemployment Grants Committee | 42,629 |
| Works on unclassified roads | 747 |
| Drainage schemes assisted by the Ministry of Agriculture | 779 |
| Schemes assisted by the Ministry of Health | 2,823 |
| Schemes assisted under Part I of the Development Act | 7,102 |
Wages
asked the Minister of Labour the present average weekly wage rates in the following industries: coal-mining industry, cotton industry and wool textile industry (Yorkshire: time-workers and pieceworkers (males and females)?
In each of these industries there is a great variety of rates of wages in different occupations and on different processes, and the information in the possession of the Ministry of Labour is insufficient to enable general averages of rates of wages to be calculated.
Emigration
asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of emigrants from this country in each of the last two years and the names of those countries which have recently closed the door of emigration to British emigrants?
The numbers of British subjects who were recorded as leaving permanent residence in the United Kingdom with the intention of taking up permanent residence in places out of Europe during the years 1929 and 1930 were 143,686 and 92,158 respectively. Residence for a year or more is treated as permanent residence. With regard to the second part of the question, I am informed that the general policy of all oversea countries at the present moment is to discourage immigration. No restrictions are, however, placed on the entry into the Dominions of healthy migrants from the United Kingdom provided they are of British nationality, are of good character, and are in a position to defray their own expenses.
Margarine (Price)
asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any reductions have taken place in the market price of raw material of margarine within the last two years; and what reduction, if any, has taken place in the price of the manufactured article?
According to the information published in regard to commodity prices, the wholesale prices of most of the raw materials of margarine show considerable reductions during the past two years. I have no information as to the wholesale price of margarine during this period, but the average values of imported margarine, which represents about 15 per cent. of the total estimated consumption in this country, have fallen from 6.51d. to 6.20d. per lb. during the same period. According to the Ministry of Labour retail food price figures, the average retail price of margarine, which was 7½d. per lb. in 1929, fell to 7¼d. in April, 1930, where it has since remained.
Legislation (Cost)
asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he proposes to take any action in accordance with the resolution of the County Councils' Association forwarded to him in May, 1930, in which it was urged that the whole cost of any new legislation should be borne by the Exchequer; and if he will explain why no reply beyond a bare acknowledgment has been forwarded to this association?
The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the second part, a resolution of this kind did not appear to me to call for more than an acknowledgment.
British Museum (Illuminated Manuscripts)
asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether it is proposed to make a grant to enable the British Museum to reprint coloured reproductions of their illuminated manuscripts, edited by Sir John Warner, and now out of print?
I have not been approached by the Trustees of the British Museum for a special addition for this purpose to the provision included in the Vote for the Museum, for this and kindred services, which are provided for, as thought necessary, in that Vote.
Transport
Motor Vehicles (Restriction, Highways)
asked the Minister of Transport the number of county or county borough councils which have applied to him under the provisions of Section 7 (4) of the Roads Act, 1920, during the 12 months ended to the last convenient date for an order prohibiting or restricting the use of motor vehicles of any specified classes on highways which are unsuitable for their use; and in how many cases he has sanctioned this order?
During the year ended 31st December last, five applications were received of which two have been granted and three are under consideration.
Railway Works And Extensions
asked the Minister of Transport the number of proposals made by railway companies that have been approved by his Department for work which is to be undertaken by them in respect of the discontinued passenger duty; and will he give particulars?
I would refer the hon. Member to the list of schemes which I gave in reply to a question on this subject by my hon. Friend the Member for St. Pancras South-East (Mr. Romeril) on 5th November, 1929. This list still holds good, subject to a few minor alterations which have since been agreed with the railway companies.
Railway Charges (Heavy Industries)
asked the Minister of Transport whether he has had under consideration the recommendations submitted to him in July of last year by the executive committee of the Association of British Chambers of Commerce and the conclusions of the Committee on Industry and Trade in their final report on transport charges as a cause of our loss of trade; and whether he proposes to take steps for an early investigation into the high level of transport charges as operating against the competitive power of the heavy industries in this country and indirectly tending to increase unemployment?
Under the Railways Act, 1921, provision is made for periodical reviews of railway charges generally, and, in addition, representative bodies of traders can at any time apply to the Railway Rates Tribunal for modification of existing charges. I do not consider that any useful purpose would be served by duplicating the existing machinery, and I may remind the hon. Member that the heavy industries have already received a substantial measure of relief from transport charges under the provisions of the Local Government Act, 1929.
Road Transport (Railway Companies)
asked the Minister of Transport approximately to what extent the road transport systems of the country have passed under the control of the railway system?
The proportion of the passenger road transport undertakings of the country actually controlled by railway companies, is, I believe, small. At the same time, I understand that the railway companies have acquired financial interests in a large number of such undertakings. As regards goods services by road, apart from their collection and delivery services, the railway companies have, so far as I am aware, as yet acquired no considerable interests.
Street Names (Display)
asked the Minister of Transport if he will consider suggesting to municipal authorities a uniform scheme of exhibiting street names, with a view to minimising the time wasted by members of the public in the search for these names?
On 20th August last I caused a circular letter to be addressed to all local authorities upon the subject of the desirability of adopting uniform principles in connection with the display of street names, and I am sending the hon. Member a copy of this circular for his information.
Electricity Supply
asked the Minister of Transport what is the total amount of money spent in carrying out the provisions of the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1926, so far as they have gone to the nearest date?
I understand that contracts to an aggregate value of £18,200,000 for the construction of the grid system have already been entered into by the Central Electricity Board and that they have in addition authorised expenditure amounting to over £4,250,000 on the standardisation of frequency.