asked the First Lord of the Admiralty which of the battleships and battle cruisers on the Navy List, other than His Majesty's Ships "Rodney," Nelson," and "Hood," have been modernised; what have been the main alterations effected; and what was the total approximate cost?

Since 1918, nine battleships of the "Queen Elizabeth" and "Royal Sovereign" classes, and the battle cruisers "Renown" and "Repulse," have been modernised and the "Barham" is now in hand. The main alterations comprise addition of bulges, increase in anti-aircraft armament in some cases, improvements to bridges and tops, and improvements to ventilation and accommodation. Additional armour protection has been fitted in "Renown" and "Repulse." The estimated total cost of these items of modernisation, including "Barham," is approximately £2,870,000.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what were the average weekly rates of pay of men employed in the Royal Dockyards during May, 1929, January, 1930, and January, 1931?

The average weekly rates of pay of men employed in the shipbuilding and ship repairing departments (Vote 8) of the Royal Dockyards at home for the months stated in the question were as follow:

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what were the numbers of workmen discharged on reduction from the Vote 8 departments of Chatham Dockyard during the years 1924 to 1930, inclusive?

The required numbers are:

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the present valuation of Chatham Dockyard; and what amount was contributed to local rates during the year 1929–30?

The present valuation of this dockyard is £24,021. The corresponding contribution to local rates for the half year ended 31st March, 1930, was £7,656, but the contribution for the full year ended 31st March, 1930, was £28,548.

asked (1) the Secretary of State for War approximately how much flour was used for the forces situated in Britain during the six months after harvest in 1929 and 1928, respectively;(2) the Under-Secretary of State for Air approximately how much flour was used for the forces situated in Britain during the six months after harvest in 1929 and 1928, respectively?

The quantities of flour used by the Army and the Royal Air Force at home during the periods of six months commencing October, 1929, and October, 1928, are estimated at about 5,300 tons and 5,500 tons, respectively.

asked (1) the Secretary of State for War how much home-fed beef was supplied to the forces situated in Britain during the months of October to March for the past two years;(2) the Under-Secretary of State for Air how much home-fed beef was supplied to the forces situated in Britain during the months of October to March for the past two years?

With the exception of a very small quantity of fresh meat for hospitals, imported meat only, practically all of Dominion origin, was supplied to the Army and the Royal Air Force in Great Britain during the periods in question.

asked the Secretary of State for War if it is pro-

Yes, Sir; it is proposed to make the change during the present year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give any information which will show the value and volume of our trade with China and with India in each of the years 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930, as compared with the average value and volume of a representative number of preceding years?

I am unable to state the volume of our trade with China and India. The following table shows the total declared value of merchandise imported into and exported from the United Kingdom and registered as consigned from and to China, Hong Kong and British India, respectively, during the undermentioned periods.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can give any figures which would show the value and volume of the total foreign trade of China and of India for the years 1927, 1928, 1929 and 1930, as compared with the average value and

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the total tonnage and declared value of crushed rock salt imported from Germany into the United Kingdom in the year 1930; whether he is aware that this commodity contains insoluble matter as an impurity, but is being sold as pure salt in competition with British brine salt; and what are the current prices of this German salt and British brine salt, respectively?

I regret that I have no information respecting the quantity or value of crushed rock salt imported into the United Kingdom from Germany during 1930, as this commodity is not separately recorded in the trade returns of this country or of Germany. With regard to the second part of the question, I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply given by the Minister of Health to the hon. and gallant Member for Tiverton (Lieut.-Colonel Acland-Troyte) on 5th February.

I am unable to state the volume of the foreign trade of China and India, but the following table shows:I have no information as to the current prices of this German salt or British brine salt.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of bankruptcies of estates formerly of the value of £1,000 and upwards during the five years prior to 1914, and the last similar period for which figures are available?

The number of bankruptcies finally wound up in which the value of the estates amounted to £1,000 and upwards was 650 during the years 1909 to 1913 inclusive, and 873 during the years 1925 to 1929 inclusive.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the amount of the export of coke from this country to Switzerland for each of the years 1927, 1928, and 1929?

No exports of coke from the United Kingdom were regis- tered as consigned to Switzerland during the years 1927, 1928 and 1929. In the trade returns of Switzerland which record the goods imported according to the country of origin (not consignment), however, the quantity of coke imported from the United Kingdom in these years was recorded as 296 tons, 3,228 tons and 1,614 tons, respectively.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how much foreign bounty-fed or dumped oats was landed and sold in Britain in 1929 and 1930, respectively?

I regret that I am unable to supply the information desired, as no distinction based upon the price of the goods or any factors that may affect the price is made in recording imports.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will consider the desirability of using the Imperial Economic Committee to make inquiries into the production and cultivation of certain chief world products in respect of which parts of the British Empire are themselves producers, with the object of rendering assistance to those who are finding it difficult at present to carry on?

I will bear the hon. Member's suggestion in mind, but, as he will be aware, no questions can be referred to the Imperial Economic Committee except by agreement among the Governments of the British Commonwealth.

asked the Prime Minister if he will take steps to ensure that a member of the Cabinet shall be responsible for national museums other than those under the Board of Education?

The Royal Commission on National Museums and Galleries considered a suggestion on these lines, but did not recommend its adoption. I see no reason to differ from their conclusion.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is prepared to have a cancellation stamp for all letters posted in Macclesfield bearing the words "Buy Macclesfield Silk"?

As my hon. Friend has already explained in answer to similar requests for postmark advertisements of other British industries, the circumstances appertaining to the advertisement of the cotton section of the British Industries Fair do not apply in the case in point, and I, therefore, regret that my hon. Friend is unable to grant the hon. Member's request.

asked the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to the postal arrangements at Marple, near Stockport; and if he will take steps to see that the postal arrangements are of such a character as to meet the needs of this growing urban district?

I am having inquiry made, and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the total amount paid on behalf of the East Africa. Protectorate and Kenya Colony by the British taxpayer, showing the respective sums on account of the Uganda Railway, non-recoverable grants in aid, and remission of interest on loans; the amount paid to Kenya on account of the war in East Africa; and the amount of British credit at present involved in guaranteed loans to the Colony?

Nonrecoverable grants in aid of administrative and railway deficits, to the total amount of £2,843,383, were issued to the East Africa Protectorate in the period from 1895 to 1912. There have been no such grants since. Under the authority of the Uganda Railway Acts, 1896 to 1902, sums amounting to £5,502,592 were issued to the Protectorate from the Consolidated Fund in the period from 1896 to 1905 for the construction of the Uganda Railway: and the sums so issued were borrowed from the National Debt Commissioners by means of terminable annuities expiring in 1925. The payments, totalling £7,909,295, in respect of those annuities, as well as a sum of £20,000 for preliminary expenses in connection with the railway, were met from moneys voted by Parliament for foreign and Colonial services. It was agreed in 1896 that until the money issued out of Consolidated Fund for the construction of this railway had been wholly repaid to the Exchequer, and thereafter until otherwise determined, the surplus profits of the railway should be paid over to the Exchequer save so far as they were, with the approval of the Treasury, applied for improving and developing the railway. Nothing has been paid over to the Exchequer on this account to date. It was agreed in 1924 that no claim would be made before 1934, when the matter will come up for consideration. The Kenya share of the expenditure from Imperial funds in connection with the war in East Africa was £1,405,016. It was agreed in 1924 that the question of the liquidation of this debt should be considered in 1934. In 1924, a Development Loan of £3,500,000 was issued to Kenya, free of interest for five years. The loan was repaid under discount in 1927 out of the proceeds of a public loan, and the amount repaid was

asked the Secretary for Mines what is the amount standing to the credit of the Miners' Welfare Fund and the amount expended during 1930?

The amount standing to the credit of the Miners' Welfare Fund at 31st January last was £2,193,956, but of this sum £1,505,161 had already been earmarked for future payment for various purposes. The amount paid out during 1930 was £1,361,466.

asked the, Secretary for Mines the production of coal for the United Kingdom, the Continent of Europe, distinguishing the principal producing countries, and the United States for each of the last 10 years?

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary for Mines the rates per 1,000 at which horses and ponies employed underground in mines were killed and injured during each of the last 10 years; the rate of killed and injured ponies per 1,000 in each of the divisions into which the coalfields are divided in official reports for

asked the Minister of Health whether any other disease was present in addition to smallpox in the eight fatal cases in unvaccinated persons that occurred in London during the year 1929; and, if so, what disease was present and the age of the patient in which it was present?

The statistics are as follow:

Only six deaths from smallpox are recorded as having occurred amongst London patients in 1929. All these patients were unvaccinated. In two of them no cause of death other than smallpox was mentioned in the death certificate. In the other four the age of the patient and the certified causes of death were as shown in the following table:

asked the Minister of Transport the number of road improvement schemes approved by his Department since June, 1929, for the county of Somerset, with the names of the authorities and the cost of each scheme?

Since 1st June, 1929, my Department has approved, in the county of Somerset, 118 road improvement schemes estimated to cost £401,983, and in addition, five schemes estimated to cost £371,416 have been approved in principle. In view of the large number of schemes in question, I hope my hon. Friend will not press for information as to the name of the authority and the cost in each individual case.

asked the Minister of Transport how many men are employed and for how long on the work in the section of the Bath Road from Great West Road to Colnbrook; and what is the total estimated cost and the estimated expenditure, respectively, on the acquisition of land and for other compensation to owners or occupiers for severance, disturbance, easements and the like, on wages, and on material?

Forty-two men are at present engaged upon the construction of that portion of the Bath Road which lies between the Great West Road and Colnbrook, and it is estimated that the work involved will provide 4,116 men-months of direct employment. The estimated cost of this portion of the scheme is £171,500 of which about £42,000 represents the probable cost of acquisition of land and compensation. The constructional works are estimated to cost £129,500, but I regret that I have not sufficient data to enable me to divide the figures between wages and material.

asked the Minister of Agriculture for each county the net return on the capital invested whether in acquiring land or equipping it or otherwise for the purpose of smallholdings under the Acts of 1906, 1919, and 1926, respectively; and for each county the loans still outstanding and their annual loan charges towards repayment under each Act?

I regret that it is not possible to give the detailed information asked for as regards holdings provided under the Small Holdings and Allotments. Act, 1908, and the Land Settlement (Facilities) Act, 1919. For England and Wales as a whole the financial result of councils' operations under those Acts was approximately as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount paid out by the Exchequer in subsidies to beet sugar for each year since this subsidy was initiated; and how much of it went to the growers of beet and how much to the factories?

I have been asked to reply. The total payments of subsidy under the British Sugar (Subsidy) Act, 1929, in respect of sugar and molasses produced at the beet sugar factories in Great Britain in each financial year were as follow:

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many men, approximately, are now employed on land drainage schemes; and how many of these men are at work as a result of the operation of the Land Drainage Act?

The number of men employed on State-assisted land drainage schemes is approximately 1,543. None of these are at work as a result of the operation of the Land Drainage Act, 1930. As my hon. Friend is aware the main object of that Act was to secure the constitution of catchment boards for the main rivers and thus to enable more comprehensive schemes of drainage to be carried out through these catchment boards. These boards are being set up as rapidly as the statutory requirements of the Act permit, but there has not yet been time for the consideration by them of drainage schemes.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs when the report is expected of the commission appointed to inquire into the case of the British settlers in Victoria under the 1925 scheme?

I understand that the Royal Commission on Migrant Land Settlement in Victoria began its proceedings yesterday, the 9th instant. At this stage, I am unable to say when the report will be presented.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs if he can now make any statement as to the loss of life, the injury to persons and the material damage sustained as a result of the earthquake in New Zealand?

I fear that it is still too early for a complete statement of the loss of life and damage caused by the earthquake to be available. The telegraphic reports so far sent to me by the Governor-General have been issued to the Press here on their receipt; and the High Commissioner for New Zealand is taking steps to arrange for the immediate publication of the casualty lists as they reach him from his Government. I regret to say that the number of deaths definitely reported up to the present time is 212, though the list is not complete, and, in addition, the number of injured is approximately 950.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) the number of persons between the ages of 18 and 40 years who are in receipt of unemployment benefit at the present time, and how many are women;(2) the number of persons between the ages of 55 and 65 years who are in receipt of unemployment benefit at the present time, and how many are women?

The latest date for which figures are available is 24th November, 1930. It is estimated that at that date the figures in question for Great Britain were approximately as follow:

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons for whom employment is now being provided by the present Government other than in schemes financed out of the Road Fund?

Details as to the numbers of persons directly employed on the site of works at 19th December last are contained in the reply given on 28th January last to the right hon. Member for West Woolwich (Sir K. Wood) of which I am sending the right hon. Gentleman a copy.

asked the Minister of Labour how the percentage of workers unemployed in Great Britain compares with the percentage for Germany, the United State of America, Belgium, France and Italy?

asked the Minister of Labour (1) if she has any information as to the volume of unemployment in the United States of America;(2) if she has any information as to the volume of unemployment in Germany?

A summary of official statistics of unemployment in oversea countries appears each month in "The Ministry of Labour Gazette." The number of persons registered at the German Employment Exchanges as unemployed on 15th January, 1931, was 4,765,000 (provisional figure). The number of the unemployed in the United States is not known; but I understand that the number in the first week of December, 1930, was reported to the Senate as between 4,500,000 and 5,000,000. Unofficial estimates range from 5,300,000 in December, 1930 (the estimate of the American Federation of Labour "of the total number out of work in all trades in the United States, union and nonunion"), to about 8,000,000 (the estimate of the National Unemployment League). It is possible that the lower of these estimates relates to industrial workers only. Statistics of unemployment are not available in the form of percentages for France and Italy, where 45,098 persons at 24th January, 1931, and 642,169 persons at the end of December, 1930, were registered as unemployed respectively. In addition 21,788 persons were recorded in Italy as partially unemployed at the same date. The representative of the French Government on the Governing Body of the International Labour Office is reported by the Press to have made recently a statement on unemployment, according to which the volume of unemployment in France is much greater than appears from the published figures given above, the results of a special inquiry made in January showing that 350,000 persons in France were wholly unem- ployed, and 1,000,000 partially unemployed. The latest available percentages of unemployment in the other countries named are given in the following table,