asked the Secretary of State for India the latest information he has as to the political situation in India?

asked the Secretary of State for India if he has any further statement to make as to the political situation in India?

I am circulating a statement covering the events of the past week.

asked the Secretary of State for India the present situation in regard to the disturbances in Burma?

The Government of Burma report that the past week has been uneventful, and nothing of importance has occurred.

Can the right hon. Gentleman inform the House how many people have been sentenced to death in the past two months?

I think that the hon. Member has a question down on that subject. In any case, I answered it last week.

asked the Secretary of State for India on what date he intends to introduce legislation for the purpose of separating Burma from India?

asked the Secretary of State for India on what date it is proposed to introduce the necessary legislation for the separation of Burma from India?

It is the intention to introduce legislation at the earliest practicable date after the decision of the people of Burma on the question of separation from India is made known in the light of the election to be held next autumn.

asked the Secretary of State for India how many persons have been executed in Burma since the commencement of the rebellion in December, 1930; and can any statement be made on the situation in Burma at the present time?

I would refer the hon. Member, as regards the first part of the question, to the answer given to the hon. Member for Govan (Mr. Maclean) on the 9th March; and as regards the second part, to that already given to Question No. 3.

As this rebellion is largely due to sordid economic conditions, could not some other more humane method be found of solving the problem instead of executing people?

If the hon. Member will look at the table which I gave last week, he will see that great care has been exercised in scrutinising all death sentences, and that in only a small proportion of the death sentences has the sentence been carried out.

asked the Secretary of State for India what steps the Government are taking to ensure that only loyal supporters of law and order are employed in the teaching staffs of all educational establishments in receipt of Government grants?

As education is a transferred subject it is for the governors of the various provinces acting with their ministers to decide what conditions shall be attached to the payment of grants-in-aid to educational institutions. It has come to my notice that in certain cases in which it was know that members of the staff or some of the students had been engaging in undesirable activities, the authorities of the institution concerned have been informed that the grant-in-aid would be reduced or withheld until an improvement had been effected.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he is in a position to state the personnel of the Indian delegation to the forthcoming International Labour Conference at Geneva?

The matter is under discussion with the Government of India.

asked the Secretary of State for India the reasons for the decision of the Government not to publish the report of the committee appointed to inquire into the incidents which accompanied the disturbances in Chittagong in August last?

It was decided unanimously by the Government of Bengal that it would not be in the public interest to publish this report.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the instructions contained in the despatch of the Government of India to the provincial Governments dealing with the use of emergency powers, dated the 9th February last, have been published so as to become known to the community in India through the Press?

So far as I am aware the letter in question has not been published.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether active picketing still continues in Bombay; and whether the powers granted by the ordinances are being fully applied by the Government of this province?

The latest report from the Government of Bombay shows that though there is still some picketing in Bombay there has been an improvement in this respect. As regards the second part of the question, I am satisfied that the local government are using their powers energetically and effectively in very difficult circumstances.

Will the right hon. Gentleman state whether it is not possible to get at the funds of these rich men who subsidise the whole thing, and pay these unfortunate coolies to carry it out?

Yes, we are trying to do so. There is power under the ordinances; the Government of Bombay have that power, and they are taking every means to carry it into effect.

Is it not the case that the powers referred to are very difficult to put into operation, and will the right hon. Gentleman consider making some alteration in the law?

If my hon. Friend will make a suggestion to me, I will consider it with great care, but, as he knows, it is a difficult and complicated question.

Is it a fact that the Ahmadabad mill-owners are encouraging this picketing?

asked the Secretary of State for India whether any agreement has been yet reached in India regarding communal representation?

No, Sir.

Is it the intention of His Majesty's Government to intervene in this matter, or to leave the different communities to fight it out, and to keep the ring as it were?

The position is as stated in the Prime Minister's statement at the end of the Round Table Conference.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he is now in a position to make a statement with regard to the results of the Round Table Conference at Cape Town between the representatives of India and the representatives of the Union Government of South Africa on the position of the Indian community in South Africa?

The Government of India and the Union Government are still considering the question of making a simultaneous announcement as to the results of the Conference. In the meantime I am not in a position to make any statement.

asked the Secretary of State for India why, in view of the fact that a foreign company has been operating a regular weekly air-service each way across India for the last six months, no steps have been taken to utilise this service in conjunction with Imperial Airways for air mail from this country to various parts of India beyond Karachi and to Burma, pending the establishment of an Indian State service and the further extension of the Imperial air route to Rangoon?

The alternative suggested has for some time been under the consideration of the Government of India along with other possible means of accelerating the air mail to and from places on the trans-India air route. I am not at present in a position to make any statement in regard to the means which will ultimately be adopted to this end.

Will His Majesty's Government approach the Indian Government with a view to reestablishing the Indian sector of the air route which was suspended last year owing to the financial crisis?

Negotiations have been in progress for a long time. I should like to see this route started.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether there is any censor of moving pictures in India; and whether steps will be taken to prohibit the exhibition of disrobing films and other films likely to bring into disrespect the white women resident in India?

Yes, Sir. Censorship of films is carried out by the local authorities. As regards the second part of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead, West (Lieut.-Colonel J. Sandeman Allen) on the 15th February.

Is it not a fact that this censorship is most inefficient in India?

I do not admit that. I have no information to make me think that that is so.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is satisfied that the franchise committee, at present in India, is receiving the fullest possible measure of co-operation in the prosecution of its inquiries from all the various interests concerned?

I am satisfied that the committee is receiving a full measure of co-operation apart, of course, from the regrettable absence of the Congress.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he will state the present position in respect to the recent disturbed condition in Kashmir?

I have nothing to add to the statement which I circulated in reply to the hon. Member's question of the 7th March.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department if he can give the House any information as to the results of the British Industries Fair in London and Birmingham; the number of visitors to each section; and the approximate volume of orders placed, together with figures of particular industries represented?

I am glad to be able to state that the results have been uniformly satisfactory. In many sections business is reported to have been secured on a scale much in excess of that at any previous fair. The attendances by trade visitors to the London section were as follow:

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department if he can state the number of foreign waiters who were engaged to participate in the restaurants connected with the recent British Industries Fairs at the White City, Olympia, and Birmingham, respectively; and whether he will consider the advisability of making it a condition for future catering contracts for these fairs that all the waiters shall be British?

I am informed that so far as the London section of the British Industries Fair is concerned, no foreign waiters were employed in the restaurants at the White City nor at Olympia, though two foreigners were acting at Olympia in a supervisory capacity in the two principal restaurants. In regard to the Birmingham section, I am informed that no foreign waiters were engaged. In answer to the second part of the question, it is the policy of the Department of Overseas Trade in entering into any contract to emphasise the necessity for the largest possible proportion of employment of British material and personnel. In so far as catering arrangements come under the control of the Department, this policy is carried out.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether His Majesty's Government intends to issue an Order in Council declaring that the mandated area of Palestine shall profit from the preferential treatment accorded to the British Empire in the Import Duties Act?

This question is still under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state the number of barrels of tarmac imported into Great Britain for the years ending 1930, 1931, and to the nearest available date for the current year?

I regret that particulars of such imports are not available as they are not separately recorded in the trade returns of the United Kingdom.

(by Private Notice) asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is now able to make a statement on the reply of the German Government on the restriction of British coal imports to Germany; whether such restrictions are a violation of Treaty Rights; and in view of the reply of the British Mining Association on this question, which he has also received, what steps he proposes to take in the matter?

I have now received the reply of the German Government to most of the questions put to them with regard to the restriction on British coal imports. This reply, in my opinion, made it clear that the action taken by Germany is inconsistent with her obligations under the Anglo-German Commercial Treaty of 1924, being discriminatory against this country. Instructions were accordingly given to the British Ambassador to make the strongest representations to the German Government and this he did on Friday. I am advised that the German Government are considering these representations at once, and I propose to await their reply before forming a view as to what further action may be necessary.

While thanking the right hon. Gentleman for his answer, may I ask if he is aware that collieries have already been closed down in Durham as a result of this policy and can he expedite the matter in order to get some satisfactory solution?

I am glad to say that the German Government have taken the matter into consideration without any delay, and we hope to have their reply very shortly.

While these negotiations are going on will the embargo still be on the coal?

There is no doubt about that.

Is it the case that the German Government have taken the action which they have taken because of the tariff policy of His Majesty's Government?

asked the Minister of Agriculture what approximate percentage of the capital of the beet-sugar factories established under the British Beet Sugar Subsidy Act is held by foreign interests; and what is the aggregate sum paid out in dividends to this section of beet-sugar factory shareholders since the inception of the subsidy scheme?

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the total capitalisation of all the beet-sugar factories in Great Britain; what percentage of this capital is estimated to be held by foreigners; and whether he has any figures to show the amount that has been paid out in dividends to such foreign shareholders since the inception of the subsidy scheme?

The total capitalisation of British beet-sugar factories is £7,243,468 of which I understand about 20 per cent. is held by other than British nationals. The dividends paid to foreign shareholders since the beginning of the subsidy period amount to about £950,000 net.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what were the average manufacturing costs per ton for producing raw and white sugar, respectively, from sugar-beet during the last season for which figures are available; and how these compare with the manufacturing costs for producing sugar from cane in Cuba, Queensland, Natal, Mauritius, and Jamaica?

I regret that I am not in a position to supply my hon. Friend with the information desired.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the average costs of sugar-beet per acre and per ton in the years 1930 and 1931 in England and Wales, specifying in detail the costs of labour, manures, rent and rates, transport, and overhead charges, together with the average price at the factory obtained for sugar-beet, and the value of the residual crowns and leaves?

As the reply contains a tabular statement, I propose, with my right hon. Friend's permission, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that any attempt to compare the cost of sugar-beet production with the value of the product at the factory is necessarily misleading if it does not take into account the value to the succeeding crops?

I am aware of the importance to the succeeding crops.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the total imports of bacon from Poland and Lithuania, respectively, for each of the years 1929, 1930, and 1931?

Imports of bacon from Poland into the United Kingdom for the years in question were 305,453 cwt., 483,295 cwt., and 1,076,610 cwt. respectively, while those from Lithuania were 5,366 cwt., 73,333 cwt., and 362,381 cwt.

Seeing the enormous quantity of bacon which is imported from these countries, does not the right hon. Gentleman think the time has arrived when something ought to be done to assist the bacon industry in this country?

Yes, Sir, and I hope very shortly to deal with that problem.

When will "very shortly" be? Can the right hon. Gentleman give me any idea?

asked the Minister of Agriculture the wholesale price at which bacon imported from Denmark, Poland, and Lithuania is sold in this country; whether the Governments of any of these three countries pay subsidies to the exporters of bacon; and, if so, what is the amount of these subsidies?

The wholesale price of 1st quality Danish green bacon last month was about 54s. per cwt., the price of Polish and Lithuanian being about 8s. to 10s. per cwt. lower. As regards the question of the payment of subsidies by the Governments of these three countries to bacon exporters the latest information in my possession is as follows:

No subsidy is paid by the Dansh Government. In the case of Lithuania the Government at one time had an agreement with the "Maistas" Company to bear up to 75 per cent. of any losses incurred by the company on the export of bacon and pork, but I have no information as to whether this arrangement has since been varied. The Polish Government pays no subsidy but exporters of bacon receive a certificate at the rate of 25 Zloty per 100 kilograms (about 8s. per cwt. at the current rate of exchange) of the product exported, to be used in payment of import duties.

Although those Governments do not give a direct subsidy, do not they contribute to the transport charges, by way of hiding the subsidy which they actually give?

I should require notice of that question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the connection of the milk supply with various aspects of health and the prevention of disease, representation will be given to the public health interests on the commission for the reorganisation of the milk industry?

I regret I cannot undertake to give representation on the Commission to any particular interest, but I will, however, bear my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion in mind.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is in a position to make any announcement with regard to the progress of a scheme for the organisation of the bacon industry?

I hope to be able to make an announcement on the subject very shortly.

asked the Minister of Labour what is at present the total weekly income of the Unemployment Insurance Fund, giving separately the receipts from the State, from employers, and from employés; and what is the total weekly expenditure on statutory benefit and in transitional payments?

The present average weekly contribution income of the Insurance Account of the Unemployment Fund is about £1,040,000, the Exchequer, employers and workpeople each contributing one-third. The expenditure out of the Fund, otherwise than in respect of transitional payments, averages at present about £1,235,000 a week, of which £1,150,000 is insurance benefit and £85,000 administrative expenses. In addition, interest on debt is accruing at the rate of about £100,000 a week. Transitional payments and their administration during the four weeks ended 5th March, 1932, have averaged approximately £835,000 per week, which is repaid to the Fund by the Exchequer.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the approximate cost per annum at present of every 100,000 persons on the live register?

The outgoings of the Unemployment Fund by way of insurance benefit, transitional payments, adminis- tration and interest, are at present approximately £4,150,000 for every 100,000 persons on the live register.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed miners in Great Britain and South Wales, respectively, for each month from February, 1931, to February, 1932?

As the reply includes a table of figures I will, if I may, circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will inform the House as to the number of serious accidents caused, and reported to his Department, by private cars, commercial lorries, and other commercial vehicles, respectively, during the last 10 years, in each case stating the number of fatal accidents in each year?

I will circulate such figures as are available in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Home Secretary how many persons have been killed in railway accidents and road accidents, respectively, in the last five years?

asked the Minister of Transport if he can now state the composition of the conference which he proposes to call of railway and road transport representatives, the lines upon which this body is to operate, and the extent of the powers it will possess; and whether it will be convoked at once in view of the importance of the issues raised?

As the answer involves a number of figures, I will circulate the information in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

In accordance with the announcement which I made last week, I propose to summon before Easter a small conference of organisations directly concerned in the operation of goods transport by road and rail respectively.

Will the hon. Gentleman see that members of the public are represented seeing that this is a question of the transport of the public, not only by railways? They are the right people to decide these questions.

Will the hon. Member give an opportunity to those representing the canal interests to be present at this conference?

All interests will have an opportunity of presenting their views before I take any decision.