asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of ratings invalided from the Royal Navy during the year 1930; the number whose invaliding disability was considered to be attributable to the service; the number of ratings invalided during the same period suffering from consumption; the number of cases accepted as being attributable to the service; and the number to whom disability pensions were granted?

The particulars are as follow:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of houses improved with the assistance of grant under the Rural Housing Act in each county of Scotland since the Act came into operation?

Up to 31st December, 1930, schemes under the Housing (Rural Workers) Act, 1926, for the improvement of 6,960 houses had been approved. The following statement shows the number of houses in each county in Scotland in which at 31st December, 1930, works of improvement under that Act had been completed:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any conversations took place with the permanent members of the council of the League of Nations at the recent meeting on the question of becoming special guarantors under the Convention on Financial Assistance

I regret that, owing to the heavy pressure of other important business at the last Council meeting, this question was not discussed. Germany and Italy have recently signed the Convention, and we are in communication with the Japanese Government on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if the new trans-Atlantic liners are to be equipped for the carrying and launching of high-speed mail aircraft, with a view to enabling mail deliveries to be executed from the ship to shore while the vessel is still approaching land?

No proposals of the nature referred to have so far been brought to the notice of the Board of Trade in connection with the building of any new trans-Atlantic liners.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many of the tenants originally put on to smallholdings under the Acts of 1906 and 1919, respectively, are still in occupation, or have left to acquire larger holdings or have died?

I regret that it is net possible to give the precise information required by the Noble Lady. An indication, however, of the measure of success attained by the men settled on smallholdings under the Act of 1908 (not 1908 as stated in the question) is given by the fact that returns obtained in 1918 indicated that at that date the number of failures was less than 5 per cent. of the total. Similarly returns obtained at 31st December, 1927, as to men settled under the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act, 1919, indicated that the proportion of failures to that date among men settled under the very difficult conditions prevailing after the War was less than 15 per cent. Although exact information is not available, there is reason to believe that the changes of tenancy arising from all causes on county council estates during the past few years have been on the average less than 4 per cent. each year.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many acres have been acquired by purchase and by hire, respectively, for smallholdings; and the number of separate holdings in each county in England and Wales?

The following statement gives the area of land purchased and

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of his announcement of the reduction of bonus to civil servants so as to accord exactly with the cost-of-living index, he proposes simultaneously to abandon the super-cut in this bonus as applied to the higher civil servants?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3rd February to a question put by the hon. Member for Lancaster (Mr. Ramsbotham).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether his attention has been called to the Treasury Memorandum handed in by Sir Richard Hopkins, controller of finance and supply services of the Treasury, before the Royal Commission on Unemployment Insurance, on 29th January, in which it was stated that this additional borrowing, for purposes other than productive, is now on a scale which, in substance, obliterates the effect of the Sinking Fund; and whether this memorandum was issued with his authority;(2) whether his attention has been called to the Treasury Memorandum handed in by Sir Richard Hopkins, controller of finance and supply services of the Treasury, to the Royal Commission on Unemployment Insurance on 29th January, in which it was stated that these vast Treasury loans are coming to represent in effect State borrowing to relieve current State obligations at the expense of the future; that this is the ordinary and well-recognised sign of an unbalanced Budget; and whether this memorandum was issued with his authority?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answer which I gave on Tuesday last on this subject in reply to questions by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for South Molton (Mr. Lambert) and the hon. Member for Leicester (Mr. Wise).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion the expenditure out of the National Exchequer at present bears to the estimated national income; and how does this proportion compare with the corresponding figures for 1913–14 and 1924–25, respectively?

I regret that no estimate of the present national income is available.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the desirability of the Local Authorities (Publicity) Bill being put on the Statute Book at the earliest possible moment, he will consider the expediency of adopting it as a Government Measure?

In the present state of Parliamentary business, I regret that the Government cannot adopt this Bill, but, if there is no opposition to the Bill, I should hope that it will be practicable to pass it into law.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can ascertain the number of British subjects employed in Russia?

I have no particulars of the number of British subjects employed in the Soviet Union, but will make inquiries through His Majesty's Ambassador in Moscow.