asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will reconsider the decision that His Majesty's "Renown," which is manned by a Devonport crew, shall on the completion of her cruise go to Portsmouth for refit; and whether, in view of the difficulty and expense involved for men who wish to be with their families, he will see that this refit of His Majesty's Ship "Renown" is carried out at Devonport?

There is no dock at Devonport large enough to accommodate this ship, and the refit includes docking and examination of bulges and underwater fittings.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, seeing that the device of a buoy secured to the deck of a submarine capable of being released at will from within was submitted to the Admiralty some years ago by a naval officer, the object being to indicate on the surface the position of a damaged submarine, he can state the reasons why this invention was not accepted, especially as recent accidents have proved that the use of such a device would have saved many hours' work in locating the position of a wreck?

I am aware that the question of fitting such buoys has been before the Admiralty for many years. The reasons for their not having been adopted hitherto are technical, but experiments have been proceeding and continue.

asked the hon. Member for the Houghton-le-Spring Division, as representing the Charity Commissioners, how the trustees or governors of the Chatham Ragged School Trust are appointed; and what is its present composition?

I have been asked to reply. The constitution of the body of trustees of the Chatham Ragged School Trust is regulated by a scheme of the Board of Education of 2nd November, 1928, of which I am sending a copy to my hon. Friend. I have no full list of the names of the present trustees.

asked the Minster of Labour the maximum, minimum, and average wages paid to labourers who are employed on schemes at present being carried out under the recommendation of the Unemployment Grants Committee?

I regret that the information requested is not available. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the published terms of grant in which is included the condition relating to the rates of wages to be paid on schemes of work towards the cost of which a grant from Exchequer Funds is made on the recommendation of the Unemployment Grants Committee.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the number and the total acreage of smallholdings in Shropshire which are administered directly by the Ministry of Agriculture and by the county council, respectively; what is the average rent per acre of smallholdings in each category; and when these rents were last revised?

The number of small holdings in Shropshire which are administered by the county council is 286, with a total area of 6,697 acres. The average rent of the holdings, including the rent of the houses and buildings with which the majority thereof are equipped, is a little under £2 12s. 0d. per acre. The last general revision of these rents took place in 1925, but individual rents have been revised from time to time since that date where revision was considered desirable. There are no small holdings in the county administered directly by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, but the above figures include an estate of 1,251 acres which was originally established by the Ministry under the Small Holdings Colonies Acts, and was transferred to the county council in 1926. The number of tenants on this estate is 41, and the rents average £1 19s. 6d. per acre.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if the Government are proposing at the world Disarmament Conference that the Permanent Disarmament Commission to be established by the Disarmament Treaty should replace the League. Commission of Investigation which has replaced the Inter-allied Commission on German Disarmament established by Articles 203 to 213 of the Treaty of Versailles.

I would refer the honourable Member to the answer which I gave to his Question on 3rd June, and I can only repeat that all problems connected with the forthcoming Disarmament Conference are receiving the fullest consideration.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what was the total naval tonnage of the British Navy, including Dominion vessels, on 1st August, 1914, 11th November, 1918, and let January, 1930, respectively; what the estimated tonnage will be on 31st December, 1936, with the building replacement allowed under the London Naval Treaty; what were the total numbers of ships in the British Empire Fleet on each of the above dates; what it is estimated that the number will be on 31st December, 1936; what the corresponding tonnages and numbers of ships of the United States, Japanese, French and Italian navies were on the same dates; and what they are estimated to be on 31st December, 1936?

The total normal tonnages and numbers of vessels on the various date in capital ships, coast defence vessels, aircraft carriers, cruisers, leaders, destroyers and submarines were:

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) to what countries and at what average price sulphate of ammonia has been exported in the past 12 months?(2) if sulphate of ammonia has been exported on credit to Soviet Russia during the last 12 months; and, if so, at what price?

The following statement shows the total quantity of the domestic exports of sulphate of ammonia from the United Kingdom registered during the 12 months ended 31st May, 1931, distinguishing the principal countries to which consigned; the figures are provisional.Soviet Union, except that the average price has been as shown above.