asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that property belonging to Captain Douglas C. Carr was destroyed by fire during the riots in Malaga on 14th May, 1931; that a claim for compensation was correctly filed in August of that year; that, despite all communications addressed to the Spanish Government, Captain Carr has received no compensation of any kind; that His Majesty's Ambassador in Madrid addressed an official note on 2nd July, 1932, to the Spanish Government requesting information as to the present position; that no reply has yet been received from the Ministry of State; and what further steps His Majesty's Government propose to take in this matter?

I regret that the position has not changed substantially since the answer given to my hon. Friend on 25th April last. Captain Carr's claim was one of those dealt with in that answer. His Majesty's Ambassador in Madrid, having received no reply to his last official note, again called at the Ministry of State on 9th November leaving a memorandum on the subject. His Majesty's Government now have under consideration what further action can be taken to secure a settlement of these claims.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, seeing that the average cost of putting a man to work on relief works for a year has been computed to be approximately £500, he will state the type of relief works to which this figure applies; and whether such a figure holds good in the case of ordinary manual labour without any necessity for expensive overhead charges?

The figure to which my hen. Friend refers is an average figure covering relief schemes of all classes, varying in character from rough work like excavation, where labour is the principal factor to road formation and surfacing, and the construction of bridges where material accounts for a substantial proportion of the cost; and including also gas, water, docks and harbour schemes, sewerage schemes, sea defence works, municipal buildings, etc. The amount of employment provided by any particular scheme naturally depends upon the nature of the scheme and, in particular, upon the proportions of the total cost which are expended upon labour and materials, respectively.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the conditions in the casual wards at Alton and Alresford Institutions, respectively; and if, in view of the complaints made about them, he will cause an inquiry to be made into the question of their fitness for habitation?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative; the authorities responsible for the administration of the relief of casuals in this area propose, however, to close both these wards as soon as plans for extending and improving certain neighbouring wards have been completed, and in the meantime I do not propose to press these authorities to incur expenditure upon their improvement.