asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will submit to this House for ratification any agreement. arrived at between Great Britain and the Argentine on matters arising out of the results of the Ottawa Conference in order that the House may have an opportunity of expressing its views on the treatment of British capital invested in Argentine railway and other concerns by certain sections of the Argentine people?

Any treaty or formal agreement that His Majesty's Government may make with the Argentine Government as a result of the forthcoming trade negotiations will be laid on the Table of the House before ratification, in accordance with the practice which has for some time been observed.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the shorthand note fees of the official shorthand writers at the principal bankruptcy courts in the provinces have been cut by from 50 to 70 per cent. according to the number of examinations held, and that such cuts have only been accepted under protest by the shorthand writers concerned in view of the intimation given by the Bankruptcy Department of the Board of Trade to the representatives of a professional organisation that the Board intend to get the work done as cheaply as possible, irrespective of standard rates or other considerations; and whether he will undertake to look into the matter with a view to these reductions being mitigated, either by a more equitable settlement in regard to the note-taking fees or an upward revision of the transcript rates?

The rates of payment to shorthand writers in Bankruptcy Courts in London and the provinces have recently been revised, not only on the general ground of economical administration but because, owing to the method of calculation adopted, the fees for attendance, as distinct from those for transcript notes, were unjustifiably high. The new system of remuneration was adopted after consultation with those associations who were understood to represent the bulk of the shorthand writers concerned. The total reduction in fees due to the revised system is estimated at 15 per cent., and in existing circumstances I can hold out no hope of any upward revision.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) what is the number, in each case, of post offices, scale-payment offices, salaried sub-offices, head offices, branch offices, sub-district offices, town sub-offices and country sub-offices;(2) how many town sub-offices are in Classes I, II and III, respectively; and how many country sub-offices are in Classes I, II and III, respectively?

The numbers of post offices are approximately as follow:

Head Offices	470
Branch Offices	380
Salaried Sub-Offices	670
	(110" Town" and 560" Country ").
Scale Payment Sub-Offices	21,400
	(7,200" Town" and 14,200" Country ").
Sub-District Offices (London)	100

Of the salaried "Town" sub-offices, three are in Class I, about 90 in Class II and the remainder in Class III. The system of classification does not apply to scale payment" Town" sub-offices. Of the" Country" sub-offices (salaried and scale payment), 13 are in Class I, 75 in Class II and the remainder in Class III. At scale payment" Country" sub-offices the system of classification applies only to the outdoor force, any indoor staff required being provided by the sub-postmaster.

asked the Minister of Labour how many of his staff are represented on the Whitley Committee at Kew; what is the total number of the staff employed in the Kew office: and whether he is satisfied that the Whitley Committee is representative of the staffs there?

The total number of staff employed in the Claims and Record Office at Kew is 2,876 of whom 642 are in temporary employment. Owing to the withdrawal of one association from the staff side of the Whitley Committee, the question whether that committee is still truly representative of all grades has been raised by the association in question. My right hon. Friend is considering the matter, and proposes to communicate his onclusion at an early date.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is in a position to add anything to his answer of 12th May with regard to amending the Medicine Stamp Acts'?

I am not yet in a position to make any further statement on the subject of the Medicine Stamp Acts, but I can assure my hon. Friend that the position under the Acts is receiving careful consideration.