asked the Minister of Labour what has been the course of unemployment in Newcastle-on-Tyne during the past six months by industries, sexes, numbers, and percentages?

The following table gives the information desired.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether in view of the omission from the Indian Finance Minister's speech of any reference to the preference of five per cent. for British manufacturers, it is intended to make any change in policy with regard to Imperial Preference; and whether the preference of five per cent. will apply to the recently increased Customs Duty on cotton goods?

The existing preference on British cotton goods remains unaffected by the increased Customs Duty.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the output tonnage of British manufactured steel during the months of February, 1930, and 1931, respectively; and what was the increase or decrease in home-produced and foreign imported steel during the same months?

According to information furnished by the National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers, the output in the United Kingdom of steel ingots and castings was 776,400 tons in February, 1930, and 486,400 tons in February, 1931. The total imports of steel ingots and castings in the rough registered during these months were 4,040 tons and 1,855 tons, respectively, practically all of which was consigned from foreign countries.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the importation of foreign steel marked B.S. and sold as British steel, but which it not up to British quality though it may be made to British standards; and what action the Board of Trade propose to take to assist the British Steelworkers' Association in its effort to combat foreign steel imports and so increase trade to home manufacturers?

I am aware that foreign steel is sometimes imported bearing the letters B.S., but these letters are not regarded as an indication of British origin for the purposes of the Merchandise Marks Acts. There is consequently no power to prevent the importation of steel bearing them. The use of the mark which has recently been established under the auspices of the British Steelwork Association will, I have no doubt, enable purchasers to be sure that they are buying steel of British origin manufactured to the British standard specification for structural steel.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what were the imports of soap from Russia into this country since 30th October last, and the imports of confectionery since 30th September last?

The total quantity of soap imported into the United Kingdom during the four months ended 28th February, 1931, registered as consigned from the Soviet Union (Russia), amounted to 11,202 cwts., of a declared value of £14,270, while the total imports of sugar confectionery and chocolate confectionery, including moulded chocolate, registered during the five months ended 28th February, 1931, as consigned from the Soviet Union (Russia), amounted to 10,181 cwts., of a declared value of £21,149.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is now able to give the date when the committee's report upon national parks will be published; and whether he will take steps to accelerate the report?

I can assure my hon. Friend that every possible step is being taken to expedite the final preparation of this report, and I hope that it will be ready at a very early date.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the number of petitions which have been received by the League of Nations on behalf of the Ukrainian minority in Poland; the number of these petitions which have been declared receivable and non-receivable, respectively; and whether he will request the secretariat of the League to circulate a list of these petitions and, in the case of those declared non-receivable, indicate the reasons given for non-receivability?

Six petitions on behalf of the Ukrainian minority have been referred to a committee of the council of which I am a member, and the committee has been informed that a seventh petition has also been declared receivable and will be submitted to it as soon as the observations of the Polish Government have been received. I regret that I am not in a position to state the total number of petitions on this subject received by the secretariat of the League of Nations, but I am making inquiries and will let the hon. Member know their result. In reply to the last two parts of the question, the secretariat publishes annually the numbers of petitions declared receivable and non-receivable respectively during the past year. This annual return, which is made in accordance with the rules laid down by the council, does not, however, contain details of petitions declared non-receivable, or indicate the reasons of their non-receivability.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, at the recent meetings of the council of the League of Nations in Geneva, the Polish Government was asked to give any guarantee concerning the future treatment of minorities in Upper Silesia?

The council, at its last session, expressed the opinion that, in the interests of reconciliation between the two elements of the population in Upper Silesia, it was desirable that steps should be taken to sever any official connection which might exist between the local authorities and associations of a markedly national or political tendency. The council requested to be informed at its next session of any decision taken by the Polish Government in this matter.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of complaints against the automatic system of telephoning as compared with the number of complaints in regard to the previous system of human operators?

The proportion of written complaints to telephone calls made is of the same order for automatic and manual working, namely, about one complaint for 25,000 and 28,000 calls, respectively.

asked the Postmaster-General the cost of production of the telephone receiving apparatus of the old type and the new type?

I regret I cannot disclose the contract price for telephone apparatus, which must necessarily be regarded as confidential.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of the new telephone receiving apparatus demanded up to date; and whether he intends reducing the rent per quarter charged for the use of these new receivers to the level of the rent for the ordinary type?

The number of applications received for the new telephone is approximately 65,000. The new telephone is more expensive both in initial cost and in maintenance charges than the old type, and I cannot see any immediate prospect of making any further reduction in the rent.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the Egyptian Government has fixed any date for holding elections in Egypt; and, if so, what that date is?

I have seen certain statements in the Press on this subject, but I have no official confirmation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the total numbers of leaving certificates gained during the last year in each county and large town in Scotland; the percentage of these numbers to the numbers of pupils in the schools in the first year of the secondary course; and the respective totals for Scotland?

The long established and accepted practice of the Department in this matter is that the statistical results of the leaving certificate examination in respect of particular areas should not be published. Such publication would result in comparisons which would be neither fair to the schools concerned nor helpful to any educational in- terest. As to the last part of the question, the number of leaving certificates awarded in 1930 was 3,054, and the average number of scholars on the registers in the secondary departments of schools under the management of education authorities was 20,986.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies the number of British officials in Palestine who have passed examinations in Arabic or Hebrew, or both; if he is aware that the governmental communications are written in Arabic when replying to that race, and in English when replying to Hebrew communities; and will he cause an inquiry to be made into this distinction?

As regards the first part of the question, I regret that I am not in a position to give the figures desired. My Noble Friend is not aware of any general rule or practice, as described in the second part of the question, with regard to the conduct of official correspondence in Palestine, but he will make inquiry into the matter.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether he will hand over the munition factory at Dudley to the local authorities?

It is not practicable to hand over this factory to the local authorities as a considerable portion of it is occupied by the Ministry of Labour as a training centre. I shall be happy to consider any proposals that the local authorities may have for the utilization of the remainder of the factory.

asked the Minister of Labour how the price of a four-pound loaf in Great Britain compares with that in Germany, Italy, Sweden, United States of America, and Canada?

The latest statistics available in my Department for the oversea countries concerned relate, except in the case of Germany and Italy, to December, 1930, and are summarised in the table below. In the absence of information as to the qualities of bread to which the various quotations relate, it is not known how far the prices shown may be regarded as comparable one with another. The prices have been converted to sterling at the rates current at the dates to which the figures relate.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he intends the industrial survey in the Durham coal industry to be undertaken by the Durham University?

The industrial survey of the North East coast area, which will include the Durham coalfield, is being undertaken by Armstrong College of the University of Durham.

asked the Secretary for Mines when he hopes to be in a position to state the minimum prices fixed by each coal mining district for export and other coal?

My hon. Friend does not think it would be in the interests of the coal mining industry to publish the individual minimum prices fixed in each district.

asked the Secretary of State for War the number of civilian employés, male and female, serving in the various War Department establishments at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, on 1st June, 1929?

The numbers of employés of industrial and non-industrial grades, male and female, employed by the various War Department establishments at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, on 1st June, 1929, were approximately: Industrial, 9,050; Non-industrial, 2,250.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will give further consideration to the claim of Mr. W. A. Riley in respect of his father, the late Mr. William Patrick Riley, formerly employed in the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich; and whether, in view of the expenses he had to meet in connection with the death of his father, he can make some special grant from the compassionate fund at the disposal of his Department?

My hon. Friend the Financial Secretary has already given this case very careful consideration and has explained to the right hon. Member that the compassionate funds at the disposal of the War Department are unfortunately limited. I regret that I am unable to grant a larger sum than has already been paid in respect of the death of the late Mr. Riley.

asked the Minister of Health whether he intends to bring in a Bill with a view to legislation being passed to put an end to the nuisance and annoyance caused by the dumping of house refuse by one sanitary authority in the area of another sanitary authority without the latter authority's consent?

It is not proposed to bring in a Bill this Session for dealing expressly with the dumping of refuse. I may say, however, that the Town and Country Planning Bill recently introduced will strengthen the hands of the planning authorities in preventing or controlling the use of land for such a purpose. Local authorities may also prevent nuisance if by-laws dealing with the disposal of refuse are made betimes and strictly enforced.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he will take steps to find out how many ex-officers and men now in receipt of War disability pensions have married since they incurred their respective disabilities; how many children have been born to pensioners since the same respective dates; and, in this connection, on what numbers the Ministry based the estimates given of the cost of extending the pension regulations to cover these women and children if the men concerned die from their War disabilities?

It would not be practicable to undertake the inquiry suggested, which would involve correspondence individually with some half a million ex-officers and men. Nor even if it were undertaken would the result furnish a reliable basis for an estimate of the kind referred to in the latter part of the question, since it would, for example, leave out of account all those cases of ex-officers and men who have married and died during the past 12 years. The estimated liability of the Ministry, which I gave the House in reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Lewes (Rear-Admiral Beamish) on 8th December last, on the assumption that the wives, widows and children of post-discharge or post-injury marriages, together with other children born after discharge, were to be placed on the same footing as those which are at present entitled to the benefits of the Royal Warrants, was based on an estimate framed after taking all known factors into account. On this estimate the present number of persons who would at once acquire the right to pension or allowance would be approximately 902,000, including 166,000 wives, 13,000 widows and 723,000 children. These numbers would in the ordinary course tend to increase for a certain time to an estimated maximum figure of 1,079,000.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that blind persons residing in the districts served by the Erith Council Tramways and the Bexley Council Tramways, in the Dartford Division of Kent, have enjoyed free travel facilities for many years; and whether he will try to arrange for these privileges to be safeguarded in any legislation now pending?

I am aware that under certain conditions blind persons are allowed to travel free upon the tramways mentioned. The granting of such privileges is a matter for the discretion of the authorities concerned rather than for legislative enactment.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make inquiries in order to give the House figures showing the gross expenditure on road construction in the United States in each year from 1920 to 1930, inclusive?

I regret that the information for which the hon. Member asks is not in my possession, and I should hardly feel justified in endeavouring to obtain a full statement of the highway expenditure incurred by the United States Government itself and by the various States, cities, counties and townships. In any case, I doubt whether figures of gross expenditure on roads in another country over a period of years would be of real value, without full details of the whole of the circumstances, such as mileage, methods of construction, character of the roads, nature of traffic, etc. I hope, therefore, that the hon. Member will not press for the information, but I am able to inform him that there are approximately 3,000,000 miles of what are known as "rural" highways in the United States. Of this mileage 314,136 miles are included in the State systems, the remainder being under the control of counties or townships. The expenditure on these 3,000,000 miles of road during the year 1929 was approximately £350,000,000, towards which a sum of £15,000,000 was contributed by the Federal Government in respect of

193,000 miles of State roads which are known as "United States Highways." These figures do not include the mileage of, or expenditure on, roads and streets in large cities.

asked the Minister of Transport how many men will be employed and for how long, what will be the total estimated cost, and the expenditure likely to be incurred, 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 on the following schemes, respectively: the road reconstruction from Nottingham to Bawtry, the new Lambeth Bridge; the new road and bridge from Hampton Court to the Esher road; the various street widenings (Scheme A 48) being carried out at Swansea; and the widening and construction of sections of the new road, Queen's Drive, Liverpool?

The information desired by my hon. Friend as to the cost of certain schemes under various heads is given in the table below. With regard, however, to the number of men to be employed, on each scheme, and the duration of their employment, a detailed estimate might prove misleading, but to such works generally the formula can be applied that for every £1,000,000 spent, the employment provided on the site will amount to about 2,000 men-years, while a similar volume of employment will be provided indirectly for workers engaged in producing material in quarries, steel works, etc.