asked the Postmaster-General if he will explain how the cost of upkeep is allocated in cases where a telephone line at a sub-post office is used both for call-office purposes and for the despatch and receipt of telegrams?

The cost in question is shared between the two services in proportion to the number of telegrams and telephone calls passing over the line.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has investigated the complaints of stolen letters posted in the Cirencester, Gloucestershire, post office; and whether he can make a statement on the matter?

As a result of investigation a postman at Cirencester was arrested recently on a charge of theft from the post, and the matters referred to are now under judicial investigation.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the charges made against foreign postal administrations on account of their air mails carried on British air-mail routes are based on the gold franc; if so, what has been the increase of Post Office revenue from such sources since the suspension of the Gold Standard; and whether any arrangements have been made to allocate part of such increased profits to the assistance of such British air-mail routes?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative; as regards the second part, the surplus collected by the Post Office is estimated at about £16,000 a year. This sum has beeen utilised to cover the loss on the conveyance of British mails by Imperial and foreign air services and has enabled the Post Office to avoid increasing the rates charged for air correspondence posted in this country.

asked the Postmaster-General the estimated cost of a year's upkeep of the new Empire broadcasting station at Daventry; how many hours in the day it is likely to transmit; and what proportion of the upkeep is to come out of the present sums paid to the British Broadcasting Corporation?

I am not in a position to give an estimate of the cost of upkeep, the whole of which will, for the time being, be borne by the British Broadcasting Corporation. I understand from the Corporation that the new Empire service will begin with transmissions for about 70 hours a week.

asked the Attorney-General how many cases in the High Court of Justice, in each of the past five years, have been referred to an official referee for trial; and what number of appeals from the decisions of official referes to a divisional court, and from that court to the Court of Appeal, have been entered during each of the same years

The particulars are as follow:—

asked the Secretary of State for India whether any proposal has been made by the Government of India to the British Government as to the reduction of the number of units of the British Army stationed in India?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Westhoughton (Mr. Rhys Davies) on 24th October last.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will state in sterling the expenditure incurred by the Central Government in India in connection with the Meerut conspiracy case to the end of October or the nearest convenient date; and also the expenditure incurred by the local 'governments in respect of the court expenses and of the prosecution and defence witnesses, and the expenditure incurred by the India Office; whether any expenditure has been incurred by the Director of Intelligence in connection with the trial; and, if so, to how much it amounted?

The expenditure in-His other emoluments and their curred by the Government of India up estimated value were as to the end of August, 1932, was about £124,000. Expenditure by the local Government of the United Provinces is con fined to matters dealt with by the ordinary machinery, and I have no information as to the amount. Expenditure by the India Office has amounted to £2,230. As regards the last two parts of the question, all the expenditure borne by the Government of India is met from the Budget grant of the Intelligence Bureau of the Home Department. Pension rights

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether the catering contracts for the Tilt Yard, Hampton Court, and for Bushey Park, respectively, are let annually or for a period or are subject to annual renewal; whether a licence to sell intoxicating drink has ever been applied for or granted in respect of the refreshment kiosk in Bushey Park; and whether he will give an assurance that no application for permission to apply for such licence will be granted by him, in view of the fact that Bushey Park is used almost exclusively by children?

These contracts are usually let for periods of three years. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative, and, as to the third part, I have no intention at present of approving any application for a licence at this particular tea house.

asked the Home Secretary in detail the total remuneration of a newly-recruited police constable in the Metropolitan Police Force and of an existing police constable with five years' service in that force.

The information asked for is as follows:

asked the Home Secretary what are the weekly deductions taken from Metropolitan police constables' pay and the purposes for which the deductions are made.

The deductions taken from Metropolitan police constables' pay are:The statutory deduction at the rate of 5 per cent. of pay, being the contribution towards pension.The supplementary (economy) deduction as from the 7th November, 1932, at the rate of 8s. 6d. weekly, or 10 per cent. of pay whichever is the less, in the case of constables who, on the 30th September, 1931, were serving in or training as candidates for the Force (Statutory Rules and Orders, 1932, No. 888).A compulsory subscription of ld. a month by all constables for the purchase and repair of books in police libraries.Voluntary deductions are also made in respect of:Provident and Death Benefit Funds from Is. to 2s. per week according to number of retirements and deaths.Orphanage, 3d. per week.Convalescent Home, Hove, ld. per month.A constable may cease any or all of these voluntary contributions at any time.

asked the Home Secretary the present starting pay, with bonus, of a prison officer and a Metropolitan police constable, respectively; and what are the additional allowances or emoluments in each case?

As regards the pay and emoluments of a newly-joined Metropolitan Police Constable, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I am giving to-day to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Major Llewellin). In the case of prison officers it is not possible to give precisely comparable figures regarding the emoluments, but the following may be taken as representing the position approximately:A prison officer receives on appointment:

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of unemployed on 31st December, 1931, in Lancashire, giving the number on statutory benefit and the number on transitional benefit, separately; and similar figures for the latest date on which figures are available?

Separate statistics of the numbers of persons on the registers of Employment Exchanges with claims for insurance benefit and transitional payments, respectively, are ordinarily compiled for administrative divisions. The following table gives figures for the