asked the Secretary for Mines the number of shifts worked in British coal mines, including those of surface workers, for the year ended December, 1931; and what proportion of the total worked were between the hours of 2 p.m. and 10 p.m.?

The total number of shifts worked below and above ground at coal mines during 1931 was approximately 203,250,000. I regret that particulars of the shifts worked between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. are not available. I may add, however, that according to information supplied in 1925 by the Mining Association to the Royal Commission of that year, about one-fifth of the men then employed were employed on the afternoon shift.

asked the Secretary for Mines the latest figures he has of the number of mine workers in Lancashire and the figures of 12 months before?

On 14th May, 1932, 68,904 wage earners were employed at coal mines in Lancashire and Cheshire, as compared with 70,866 at the corresponding date in 1931.

asked the Postmaster-General what has been the profit accruing to the Post Office in respect of air mail services for each year since their introduction; how such profits compare with those on the telegraphic services for each of those years; and whether, with a view to stimulating development of air mail traffic as rapidly as possible, he will consider the advisability of reducing the charges for air mail packages and limiting the profits to be obtained from the air mails?

Up to 1925 the use of air mail services was very small, and there are no reliable figures of profits prior to that year. Since then the profits on air fees have been roughly as follow:

		£
Year ended 31st March, 1926	…	500
Year ended 31st March, 1927	…	650
Year ended 31st March, 1928	…	2,000
Year ended 31st March, 1929	…	1,850
Year ended 31st March, 1930	…	6,350
Year ended 31st March, 1931	…	1,000

During the same years the inland telegraph service was run at a loss and the foreign telegraph services showed a small profit, except in 1930–31, when they also showed a loss. The postage rates on air mails are fixed so as to cover as closely as possible the actual costs of the service, and so long as these costs remain at their present level there is no margin for a reduction.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will consider altering the regulations for the postage of inland printed matter so as to include a number of identical blank forms?

It is the practice to pass at the printed paper rate three blank forms of a kind or several dissimilar ones, provided they are sent with a covering document which is in itself admissible, but I am not prepared to amend the Regulations to admit blank forms in bulk which would come within the category of stationery.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether, in view of the public interest in Waterloo Bridge, he will give permission for a diagram illustrating the traffic problem adjacent thereto to be hung in the Tea Room of this House?

Arrangements have been made for the diagram in question to be placed in the Tea Room.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of appeals made under the Criminal Appeal (Scotland) Act, 1926, since its coming into operation; the number of persons released on bail during appeal; the number refused; the nature of the offences; and the amount of bail in each case?

Up to 19th May, 1932, 110 appeals or applications for leave to appeal were made under the Criminal Appeal (Scotland) Act, 1926. Of 11 applications for bail, seven were granted and one was refused, the remaining three applications being abandoned or superseded owing to prompt disposal of the appeals. The offence and the amount of bail in the seven cases in which bail was granted were as follow: theft, £20; culpable homicide, £25; distributing pamphlets to troops, £30; attempted bribery, £25; reset, £200; fraud and uttering fabricated transfers (two cases), £10 in each case.

asked the President of the Board of Trade which countries at the present time are discriminating against any class of goods, other than coal, which could be imported from Great Britain; and whether it is intended to take any action with regard to such discrimination under Section 12 of the Import Duties Act?

The only two cases in which His Majesty's Government have had to protest recently against discrimination of the kind indicated in the question are the introduction of the Surtax of 15 per cent. ad valorem in France and the operation of a duty-quota system in Switzerland. In the former case the matter is still under discussion, and in the latter case conversations are proceeding with the Swiss Government. The second part of the question does not, therefore, arise at present.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the proportion of indirect taxation to direct taxation in the United States, France, Germany and Spain?

I regret that I cannot supply a reliable comparison.

asked the President of the Board of Education the number of students who left the three training colleges at Bangor, North Wales, namely, the Normal College, St. Mary's Church College, and the training department of the University College in July, 1929, 1930, and 1931; respectively; how many from each college had found posts at Christmas, 1929, 1930, and 1931; how many found posts in Wales for each of the years mentioned; whether the Board of Education considers there is annual wastage of teachers and, if so, to what extent; and what is the present percentage of unemployment amongst teachers in Wales as compared with England?

The following table gives the information for which my hon. Friend asks so far as it is available. The information supplied by the college authorities does not distinguish between

I.—Statement showing the number of ex-students of certain Training Colleges in Wales who had obtained teaching posts six and eighteen months after leaving College.
—	Students leaving College in July, 1929.			Students leaving College in July, 1930.			Students leaving College in July, 1931.
	Number who left.	Number who obtained teaching posts, as reported by the College Authorities in —		Number who left.	Number who obtained teaching posts, as reported by the College Authorities in —		Number who left.	Number who obtained teaching posts, as reported by the College Authorities in —
		Dec., 1929.	Dec., 1930.		Dec., 1930.	Dec., 1931.		Dec., 1931.
Bangor University College of North Wales.	84	53	59	71	49	64	65	42
Bangor Normal	139	120	133	143	139	143	154	132
Bangor Women's	50	42	48	57	54	57	56	51

II.—Statement showing the percentage of ex-stndenta of Training Colleges (other than Colleges for Domestic Subjects) in England and Wales respectively, who were reported by the Colleges as not having obtained teaching posts six and eighteen months after leaving College.
Students leaving in			At six months.		At eighteen months.
			England.	Wales.	England.	Wales.
			per cent.	per cent.	per cent.	per cent.
July, 1929	…	…	7·8	27·9	2·1	9·0
July, 1930	…	…	4·8	19·1	1·9	5·5
July, 1931	…	…	7·4	21·6	—	—