asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement as to the position in Yugoslavia at the present time?

No, Sir. I am afraid I could not undertake to do so.

Can my right hon. Friend say what petitions from the Croatian minority have recently been received by the League of Nations?

What the hon. Gentleman asked me was to make a statement on Yugoslavia.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the British Government was one of the parties to the treaty that brought that new State into being at the end of the War, and that the provisions of that treaty are being violated by the Serbians in that country, and is there a possibility at all of the British Government taking some steps to see that the provisions of the treaty are implemented?

The general political situation in a foreign country can hardly be described within the limits of a Parliamentary answer. I am myself fully aware of the importance and the difficulty of these matters, to which I have given a good deal of study, but I think the House will allow me to say that there are a good many other foreign problems with which I have to deal at the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any steps have been taken by His Majesty's Government to respond to the appeal made by the League of Nations Council to the Guarantor Powers of the 1923 loan to Austria that they should share in the international cooperation contemplated in the Protocol of 15th July, 1932?

The Protocol of 15th July, 1932, was signed by His Majesty's Government, and the hon. Member may rest assured that so far as we are concerned, the question of bringing the Protocol into force at an early date will not be lost sight of.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make representations to the Spanish Government on the subject of their failure to carry out their obligations to the Santander-Mediterraneo Company?

The position of the claim of the Santander-Mediterraneo Company has been under exhaustive and sympathetic examination by His Majesty's Government, in consultation with His Majesty's Ambassador in Madrid. As a result of this examination, the Anglo-Spanish Construction Company, which has financed the project, has been asked to furnish further information on various essential points. Until that information is received, the possibility of making representations to the Spanish Government cannot be decided.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any progress has been made in the conclusion of a treaty with Persia whereby the British air route to India may revert to the Persian coast of the Persian Gulf?

The reversion of the Eastern air route to the Persian coast of the Persian Gulf is not contemplated by His Majesty's Government, and there are therefore no negotiations on foot for the conclusion of a treaty with Persia to that end. The question of the air route has never formed part of the negotiations now being conducted with the Persian Government for a general treaty settlement.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make representations to the Government of Egypt regarding the grievances arising from the high fees demanded for permits to allow of the running of transport lorries; whether he is aware that lorry-owners were compelled to sign declarations waiving their capitulatory rights before such permits were issued; and what action has been taken in the matter by His Majesty's High Commissioner in Egypt?

Representations have already been made to the Egyptian Prime Minister in regard to the points mentioned in the first and second parts of my hon. Friend's question, and it has been made quite clear to His Excellency that the actions of the Egyptian authorities are, in the opinion of His Majesty's Government, in certain respects illegal and a breach of the capitulatory rights of British subjects. I am awaiting the result of these representations.

Was this taxation put on without any consultation between the Egyptian Government and the British High Commissioner in Egypt?

I should require notice of that question, but I am quite certain that the fact, if it be a fact, has been duly noted in the representations that have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, with regard to the protests he has received against the expenditure of £5,000 on the purchase and lay-out of a new rifle range by the Government of Trinidad and the representations by the-taxpayers in this island made to his Department, he will delay giving sanction for this expenditure, in view of the unemployment and distress among the people of Trinidad, and discourage expenditure on such schemes?

The Governor of Trinidad was authorised in February, 1931, to act upon a resolution of the Legislative Council to the effect that a new rifle range should be acquired in substitution for the existing range, which had become dangerous. The area to be acquired for the purpose was intended to accommodate also certain other public institutions. The question of suspending approval of the expenditure does not therefore arise.

Will the right hon. Gentleman answer the part of the question in which I ask whether he has received a protest from the people of Trinidad?

I think some representations were made. I am certainly not justified in saying they were from the people of Trinidad, or from the Legislative Council. There were some representations from some quarter, I think, made to the Labour Government, and I think that the decision which I have announced to-day was quite a right one.

Would not this plan give more employment?

Yes, it will.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inform the House what portion of this £5,000 is to be spent on labour and how much on the purchase of land?

I could not possibly tell the House that. It is not only a question of a rifle range. I understood that this land is to provide for one or two other things, including a place of detention.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether his attention has been drawn to certain photographs, recently published, depicting battle scenes between aircraft, taken by an officer of the Royal Air Force who fell in aerial combat during the War; will he state whether these photographs were taken with the knowledge and consent of the said officer's squadron and flight commanders; and whether, seeing that the taking of such private photographs on active service is a breach of the King's Regulations, any disciplinary action has been taken?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second and third parts, the Air Ministry has not to date been informed of the identity of the officers concerned, but I may say that in any event my Noble Friend does not consider any disciplinary action would be called for in the case of a breach or breaches of the regulations of this character committed some 15 years ago.

Does my hon. Friend think that the photographs are genuine?

I would not like to say that. We do not know the identity of the officer.

Have any one of the Service charities received their usual provision after the photographs were taken?

I require notice of that question.

Is it not a fact that there were only two squadrons in which these photographs could have been taken? It should not be difficult therefore, to find out.

We have not been able to find out yet.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware of the delays to travellers by air to and from London caused by the lack of central aerodrome facilities; whether any proposals for overcoming such delays are brought to his notice; and whether he will consider taking steps to assist the establishment of an air port in central London?

I am aware that travellers by air incur some degree of delay owing to the fact that there is no air port in central London. Various suggestions for the provision of such an air port have been put forward, but the financial, technical and other difficulties involved have so far proved insurmountable. My Noble Friend will, however, continue to give careful consideration to this problem.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he is aware that large quantities of railway material are from time to time ordered by the Indian State railways from the Continent of Europe, particularly from the Hungarian State railway workshops which are not subject to ordinary trading conditions; and what steps he proposes to take to secure a preference for British interests in this matter?

Orders for stores required for the Indian State Railways have been placed on the Continent from time to time but the proportion of orders so placed has been by no means large. The Royal Hungarian State Works have obtained some of these orders where their tenders were most advantageous to India. In accordance with the practice which has frequently been explained 'in the House I am not in a position to take any steps in the direction suggested by my hon. Friend.

Is the House to assume from that reply that the India Office do not consider that they have any responsibility whatever for advancing British trade interests in India?

The hon. Gentleman must not make that assumption.

asked the Minister of Health when he intends to introduce legislation with regard to rent restriction?

I am giving notice to-day of intention to introduce a, Bill to amend the Rent Restrictions Acts.

Will the right hon. Gentleman in framing the Bill give consideration to the question of the exaction of "key-money" by landlords in the case of decontrolled houses?

I cannot anticipate the contents of the Bill, which will be circulated to the House on Friday.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the policy of the Government in regard to the production of oil from coal by means of the process of hydrogenation?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to the hon. Member for Wallsend (Miss Ward).

Will my hon. Friend lay papers before the House giving the report of the Fuel Research Board on this matter, or, alternatively, will he rereive a deputation of Members of the House and disclose to them the facts in possession of the Department?

I can give no pledge of that kind. I am quite willing to receive a deputation at any time of Members of the House.

As I am sure my hon. Friend does not wish to waste the time of the House, may I ask what is the good of a deputation going to him if he does not disclose to them the facts in his possession?

There may be many considerations, other than those in the mind of my hon. Friend which would make a deputation of very great value.

Have the Government come to a definite decision upon this matter?

With regard to that question, I can add nothing to the answer given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade. The hon. Member for Westhoughton (Mr. Rhys Davies) asked:

"Have the Government any policy at all on the matter? "—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 29th November, 1932, Col. 632, Vol. 272.]

asked the Minister of Agriculture at what date permission was given to import musk rats for the purpose of setting up the musquash farm at Shrawardine Pool, in Shropshire; whether any precautions against escape were laid down in that connection; and whether any action is to be taken against the owner for permitting musk rats to escape from the farm?

I have been asked to reply. The musk rats in question were brought into this country in October, 1929, there being at that time no restrictions whatever on the importation and keeping of musk rats in Great Britain. Such restrictions only came into operation on the 1st May, 1932, following the making of an Order and Regulations under the Destructive Imported Animals Act, 1932. In these circumstances the second part of the question does not arise. The reply to the final paragraph is in the negative as no offence had been committed under the Act for which proceedings could be taken.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if his attention has been drawn to the estimated number of musk rats in the County of Salop, over 1,000,000; and what action is being taken to deal with this menace to the rivers and reservoirs in England and Wales?

Various unofficial estimates of the number of musk rats at large in Shropshire have been made but they are purely conjectural. As regards remedial or preventive action, the Ministry has 27 trappers at work under expert supervision in the infested area. Catchment Boards and canal owners throughout the country have been circularised and asked to report any signs of infestation, and an explanatory pamphlet has been prepared and widely circulated.

Is the estimate of 1,000,000 correct?

While thanking the hon. and gallant Gentleman for that very comprehensive reply, may I ask him to assure farmers and others in various parts of Shropshire that the Department are doing their best to eliminate this danger?

Is the hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that there is a very large stock of traps for catching these rats, in Wednesfield, where they are nearly all made?

asked the Minister of Pensions how many disabled men are receiving medical or hospital treatment at the present time; and, of this number, how many are in receipt of treatment allowances?

At the end of October there were 4,600 men in hospital or in receipt of some other form of medical or surgical treatment from the Ministry, apart from those in mental hospitals. I have not the precise information asked for in the last part of the question, but certainly the great majority of these men would be receiving allowances.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that in some cases disabled men needing treatment for their war disabilities hesitate to undergo such treatment because they are concerned as to how their families and dependants will live during their course of treatment; and will he take steps to ensure that in all cases where treatment is certified as necessary by the Ministry allowances are issued to the pensioner's family?

asked the Minister of Pensions what arrangements are made for the support of the families of disabled men during the time the pensioners are receiving treatment for their war disabilities?

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that in many cases disabled men receiving treatment for their war disabilities have to apply to charitable funds for the maintenance of their wives and families; and will he take steps to see that adequate allowances are issued by the Government in cases of this description?

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that dissatisfaction exists regarding the interpretation of the Treatment Allowances Regulations; and will he take steps to ensure that in all cases where a pensioner is ordered treatment for his war disability full allowances are issued in view of the fact that the man is 100 per cent. disabled during the period of treatment?

asked the Minister of Pensions whether, having regard to the fact that unemployed pensioners who are ordered a course of treatment are thereby taken off the labour market and are prevented from obtaining any employment which might become available during that period, he will take steps to see that in such cases full treatment allowances are issued for the pensioner and his family?

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that treatment allowances have been refused to disabled men receiving treatment for their war disabilities on the ground that the pensioners are not normally workers; and will he take steps to ensure that disabled men who have been unable to obtain employment because of their disablement are not penalised thereby?

Hon. Members are, I fear, under some misapprehension as to the nature of the allowances referred to. These allowances are provided by the Royal Warrants to meet the circumstances of cases in which the patient suffers loss of earnings in consequence of his treatment by having to give up temporarily a remunerative occupation on which he was dependent for the support of himself and his family. They thus represent compensation for loss of the wages or profits, if any, which would otherwise be received, and while consideration is always given to cases where a man is no more than temporarily unemployed at the date of commencement of the treatment, I should have no authority to adopt the suggestion that the special allowances should automatically be given in every case of hospital treatment, regardless of the facts of the case. I may add that there has been no change in the practice of the Ministry which has been maintained under successive Governments in regard to these allowances. I would remind hon. Members that during any period of incapacity for work, whether owing to war service disability or otherwise, disabled men normally receive sickness or disablement benefits under the National Health Insurance Acts in addition to their pensions.

Can my right hon. and gallant Friend say whether there has been any change in the practice of recent Governments?

No, Sir. There has been no change in the practice of successive Governments. Indeed, my predecessor, Mr. Roberts, very rightly gave an answer as follows:

"The special allowances referred to are payable only where the patient has incurred loss by having to give up a remunerative occupation in gonsequence of the treatment."

Will the right hon. and gallant Gentleman not now reconsider this matter, first of all from the point of view that health insurance in a large number of cases will stop, owing to the operation of the new Act? Secondly, is he aware that where formerly there would have been some test about a man being a long time out of work, now, owing to the depression and the almost hopelessness of large numbers getting a job, the test does not apply in the way that Parliament originally meant it, and will he not now therefore reconsider the whole question, in view of the fact that these men are long spells out of work through no fault of their own?

I have very carefully considered this matter in the light of representations made by the British Legion, but I am not prepared to make any change in what has been done for many years by successive Governments. During hospital treatment the pensioner is maintained free at the cost of the Ministry. His pension goes to the benefit of the family, and in those cases where he is eligible, he also gets health benefit.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that in certain cases where men are out of work their wives work, and when a man is in hospital the woman has to leave her work, and as there is a tremendous loss there, will he not reconsider this matter?

No, Sir. In cases like that the family would be relieved of the cost of the patient's maintenance.

asked the Prime Minister whether the questions involved by the development of an international air force, as proposed by the French Government, are being considered by the appropriate body in this country at the present time?

This and all connected questions are being considered by His Majesty's Ministers.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is satisfied that the 745 visits paid to places registered for vivisection by the two inspectors under the Act, 39 and 40 Vic., c. 77, during the year 1931 was a sufficient proportion of visits in relation to the 613,562 experiments performed during that year on living animals to ensure that the protection that the Act purports to give is in fact given?

My right hon. Friend has no reason to believe that the present system of inspection is not sufficient to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Act.

Does the hon. Gentleman himself believe that this proportion of visits is satisfactory?

I think the basis of ratio which the hon. Gentleman has selected really proves nothing. The number of experiments are, of course, counted by each particular time any operation is performed, and in a single case of inoculation, for instance, every time an inoculation is performed that would appear as an experiment.

asked the Home Secretary how many new tote clubs have been started during the past month; whether consideration has been given to the question of the legality of totalisators on such premises and to the fact that ordinary licensees may be charged as much as £600 per annum by the Excise Department for a quasi monopoly, but are now being competed with in the sale of exciseable liquors by these clubs, which only pay a licence of five shillings?

I regret the information asked for in the first part of the question is not available; with regard to the second part of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on the 24th instant to my hon. Friends the Members for Streatham (Sir W. Lane Mitchell) and Dudley (Mr. Joel); with regard to the point raised in the last part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to a question by the hon. Member for Islington South (Mr. Howard) on the 24th of this month. I may perhaps point out that, in addition to the annual fee of 5s. paid to the registration authority, clubs in which intoxicants are supplied pay an excise duty of threepence in the pound on their purchases of intoxicants.

Does not my hon. Friend appreciate that these tote clubs have the advantage of having gambling on their premises, whereas the ordinary licensee is not allowed to indulge in such practices?

Does my hon. Friend realise that all the best tote clubs have a very large notice up saying: "No betting permitted"?

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that many blind persons object to the procedure under which they have to disclose to the presiding officer and the agents of the candidates the name or names of the candidate or candidates for whom they are voting at elections; and if he would view with sympathy a change in the law which would give blind persons, as an alternative, the opportunity of entrusting the marking of their ballot papers to a wife or friend who may accompany them to the polling booth?

If a private Member's Bill to effect the proposed change were generally acceptable to all political parties, the Government would give it sympathetic consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total cost to the Exchequer in subsidy and rebate of taxation up to the latest date for which figures are available of the assistance given to the beet-sugar industry?

The total cost of the beet-sugar subsidy from 1924 to the 31st March, 1932 was £24,335,382, but this figure includes advances amounting to £183,238 made under the British Sugar Industry (Assistance) Act, 1931, which are contingently repayable. The difference between the amount of duty paid in respect of home-grown beet-sugar and the amount which would have been payable on a similar quantity of imported sugar of foreign origin from 1915 to 31st March, 1932, is approximately £9,546,000.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the Moscow trades union radio station still continues to broadcast anti-British propaganda on four nights a week; what steps he proposes to take in order to see that this breach of agreement does not continue; and whether he is aware that some of these transmissions are in code for the benefit of their agents in this country?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State to my Noble Friend the Member for Lonsdale (Lord Balniel) on the 14th of September, 1931. I have been in communication with other Departments concerned, and think it would be expedient to give no further answer at present.

How long will the Government tolerate these frequent beaches of agreement?

I can only repeat that it would be expedient to give no further answer at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is able to give the House any information as to the action to deal with slave raiders from Abyssinia into Kenya?

As the reply is a somewhat long one I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Tanga-Dar-es-Salaam Road in Tanganyika, advocated by the Hilton Young Commission, has been completed in a condition suitable for heavy motor traffic?

This road was opened for traffic in August, 1930. I have had no report as to its actual condition but I understand that it is used by lorries to some extent.