asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of condemned houses in Lanarkshire which continue to be inhabited: how many slum-clearance houses are now being built to take their place; and the latest date on which closing orders for the old houses will be issued?

According to the statement furnished by the county council of Lanark in terms of Section 22 of the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1930, the number of houses required to replace houses that are unfit for human habitation is 1,250, and the county council propose to provide that number within the next three years. Up to date, tenders for the erection of 370 houses under the provisions of the above Act have been approved by the Department of Health for Scotland. As regards the last part of the question, I am informed that the practice of the county council is to make the closing orders or demolition orders so soon as the new houses, which are to accommodate the families that will be displaced, are approaching completion.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can obtain and publish in the mid-July Board of Trade Journal statistics showing the percentage fall in the wholesale price of Accra cocoa and also the percentage fall in retail prices of chocolate and cocoa powder for the dates May, 1930, and May, 1931?

As recorded in the "Statist," the average price of f.f. Accra cocoa, f.o.b. Gold Coast, was 33s. 1d. per cwt. in May, 1930, and 18s. 7d. per cwt. in May, 1931, a reduction of about 1½d. per lb. Information in possession of the Ministry of Labour indicates that the usual retail price of certain well-known standard proprietary brands of cocoa was 2s. per lb. in May, 1930, and 1s. 9d. per lb. in May, 1931, a reduction of 3d. per lb. The average retail price of loose cocoa was approximately 1s. per lb. on both dates. No information is collected officially as to the retail prices of chocolate. It would hardly seem necessary to republish this information in the Board of Trade Journal.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what duties are imposed by Canada on imports of manufactured dressed upper-leathers required for boots and shoes from the United States of America and this country, respectively; and what those duties will be under the new tariff schedule?

Before the recent Customs Tariff Revision in Canada the import duties on dressed upper-leathers, except patent leather, from the United Kingdom and the United States of America were 12½ per cent. and 15 per cent. ad valorem respectively. The duties on patent leather, which have not been changed, were 15 per cent. and 25 per cent. ad valorem. The new duties are 15 per cent. and 25 per cent. ad valorem respectively on all descriptions of dressed upper-leathers, except East India tanned kip leather, on which they are 20 per cent. and 25 per cent. ad valorem, plus 4 cents. per square foot in each case.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the percentage increase in imports of Empire tobacco over 1913 for a clear year after granting the first preference in 1919 and for the first clear year before the granting of the extended preference in 1925, and for the latest year available?

I think that the following table gives complete information as to the subject in which the hon. and gallant Member is interested, and he will no doubt be able to make such calculations as may be necessary for whatever purpose he has in mind.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies if it is his intention to take steps to ensure that the resolution passed at the recent Colonial Conference with regard to an Empire broadcasting service is implemented without further delay?

A scheme for broadcasting to the British Colonies and Protectorates has recently been submitted by the British Broadcasting Corporation, and is at present engaging the earnest attention of His Majesty's Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether any further communications, either in writing or by telegraph, have been passed between His Majesty's Government and the Dominions with respect to the postponement of the proposed Imperial Economic Conference at Ottawa; and, if so, whether he will issue these communications for public information?

No communications have taken place since those to which I referred in the statement which I made in the House on 9th June.

asked the Secretary of State for War the number of non-European troops maintained in the armies of Great Britain, France, Italy and the United States?

According to the information at my disposal, the establishments of non-European troops in the standing armies of France, Italy and the United States of America are:

France	178,400
Italy	27,600
United States of America	11,200

The corresponding figure for Great Britain is 19,974, which includes 1,726 Colonial and Indian Corps borne on Army Estimates and 18,243 other Colonial Forces. The figure for the army of the United States of America is for "coloured" troops.

asked the Secretary of State for War the total expenses incurred, with any detailed particulars available, of the animal experimental station at Porton for 1930?

The experimental station at Porton is engaged upon problems connected with defence against gas, and experiments upon animals play but a small part in the investigation. As to the cost of these experiments, I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to him on 9th June. The total estimated cost of the establishment at Porton in 1930 will be found on page 170 of the Army Estimates for that year.

asked the Secretary of Stale for Foreign Affairs whether he is in a position to state what is the present effective strength of the land and air forces of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics, active and reserve, and what are the corresponding figures for Poland; and what percentage reduction does this indicate since the Disarmament Conference first attended by a representative of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics?

So far as I am aware, there has been no change in the active strengths of the armed forces of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics and Poland since the figures in the League of Nations Armaments Year Book, 1930. As will be seen from that volume, there has been no reduction since 1927, the year when a representative of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics first attended a disarmament conference. As regards reserve strength, no information is published and no reliable estimate is possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many foreign officers and non-commissioned officers are now employed with the land and air forces of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics and Poland, and to which nationalities do these persons belong?

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the necessary Order in Council has now been issued applying Section 20 of the Finance Act, 1894, to the province of Saskatchewan; and, if not, what are the reasons for delay, in view of the fact that the reciprocal Orders in Council were passed by the Government of Saskatchewan on 9th January last?

An Order in Council applying the provisions of Section 20 of the Finance Act, 1894, to the province of Saskatchewan has been drafted and will be submitted for the approval of His Majesty in Council at the next meeting of the Council. It is proposed that the Order shall operate as from 9th January last, the date of the reciprocal Order in Council in Saskatchewan.

asked the Home Secretary the number of unidentified bodies taken to the mortuaries in London in any one recent year?

The most recent year for which figures are available without special collection is 1927. Seventy-seven bodies of newly-born infants and 74 other bodies found dead in that year remained unidentified two months after the end of the year. It is understood that these numbers fairly represent the average.

asked the Secretary for Mines the sums paid by British coal mines in rents, royalties and wayleaves for each year since 1920?

The information, so far as it is available, is as follows:

Year.				Rents, Royalties and Wayleaves.*
				£
1920	…	…	…	6,606,000
1921	…	…	…	5,297,000
1922	…	…	…	6,521,000
1923	…	…	…	6,643,000
1924	…	…	…	6,430,000
1925	…	…	…	5,250,000
1926	…	…	…	Not available.
1927	…	…	…	6,049,000
1928	…	…	…	5,528,000
1929	…	…	…	5,899,000
1930	…	…	…	5,551,000
* Including the rental value of freehold minerals where worked by the proprietors.

asked the Secretary for Mines if he can give a list of the names of collieries stopped in the county of Durham during the last 10 years, and also the number of miners employed when such pits ceased to work?

Information in the form asked for is only available for the last seven years, and is given in the list which I am sending to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of accidents, fatal and otherwise, in British coal mines for each year since 1920?

Number of persons killed or injured by accidents at mines in Great Britain under the Coal Mines Act, 1911, during the years 1920 to 1930:

Year.			Number of Persons Killed.	Number of Persons Injured.*
1920	…	…	1,103	117,244
1921†	…	…	755	86,325
1922	…	…	1,105	185,497
1923	…	…	1,297	212,256
1924	…	…	1,201	195,423
1925	…	…	1,136	178,060
1926†	…	…	649	90,862
1927	…	…	1,128	173,449
1928	…	…	989	161,790
1929	…	…	1,076	175,899
1930	…	…	1,013	166,281
* In 1924 and subsequent years, accidents which disabled the person injured for more than three days were reportable, the limit in 1923 and earlier years being seven days.
† The majority of the coal mines were idle during a considerable period of the years 1921 and 1926 owing to protracted disputes.

asked the Minister of Pensions the policy of his Department in staffing the Ministry of Pensions (Canadian Office) at Ottawa; how many members of the British Civil Service, both permanent and temporary, respectively, have been transferred to Canada within each of the last three years and how many it is contemplated to send this year; whether he is aware that the local staff consider that these transfers from Great Britain seriously jeopardise their future progress with regard to promotion and continued employment; and whether in this case he will reconsider his policy of sending new members of the staff from London?

The Ministry's office in Ottawa deals exclusively with Imperial pensioners and is staffed with due regard to the work to be performed and the interests of the Imperial pensioners resident in Canada and the United States of America. No officer left this country for service in Canada in 1929. In order to replace members of the Canadian Civil Service who had been lent to this office and who had been recalled to their own Departments during 1930 and this year, three permanent officers were sent from the home service in 1930 and six permanent officers and one temporary officer in 1931. These transfers have not resulted in any representations to me. I should add that the Ministry representative is returning shortly to this country at his own request on the expiration of his term of office, and his successor has recently left to take up his duties.

asked the Minister of Health why no reply has been furnished to the letter addressed to the Ministry by District E Sub-Committee on 10th March last inquiring why seven months should have elapsed between the date on which the claim of Thomas Lawrence Eaves, of 22, Milton Grove, N.19, was received at the Ministry and the date it was received from the Ministry by the pension officer?

The claim of Mr. Eaves as originally made was based on insurance, but after exhaustive investigation extending over six months it was found that he was not entitled to a pension under the Contributory Pensions Acts and the claim was then passed to the pension officer for consideration of title under the Old Age Pension Acts, 1908–1924. The reason for the delay in answering the inquiry of District E Sub-Committee was due to the fact that while the papers were outside my Department, the part relating to the insurance claim went astray and was not recovered until 10th June when a reply was sent to the letter from the sub-committee. A complete reply could not be made without reference to the missing insurance papers.