asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will give information of the number of farms untenanted in Staffordshire and in Essex; and what is the acreage?

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if his attention has been drawn to the experimental pig testing by the University of Edinburgh Institute of Animal Genetics and to the development of pigs that add weight with less food, the saving in food for each pig being 15s.; and whether he will have the results of these experiments circulated to the pig raisers in Britain?

I have been asked to reply. I am aware of the experimental work to which the hon. Member refers. In interpreting the results of these experiments, however, a number of factors, such as constitution and condition of stock, prices of feeding stuffs, etc., must be taken into account. The results have received wide publicity through the medium of lectures and discussions and articles in the general and agricultural Press. In these circumstances, it does not appear to be necessary to circulate them officially.

asked the Minister of Labour the name of the commissioner appointed to administer transitional benefits in the Wolverhampton Borough Council area; and the amount of salary and emoluments he is to receive?

No appointment has yet been made.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the Trades Union Congress held at Bristol in 1931 passed unanimously a resolution in favour of the introduction of a 40-hour working week without reduction of wages; that similar resolutions were passed at the Newcastle Congress in 1932 and the International Congress of the Federation of Trade Unions held in Stockholm in 1930; and whether the Government will announce their decision prior to the meeting of the International Labour Section of the League of Nations in June next?

My right hon. Friend is aware that the Trades Union Congress passed resolutions of the kind referred to by the hon. Member. In the resolution passed by the Congress of the International Federation of Trade Unions at Stockholm in 1930, the Congress proclaimed

"the necessity for the establishment within a short time of the 44-hour week as a stage towards a more considerable reduction of working hours "

and made no reference to wages. The hon. Member is aware that, as published in the last Trades Union Congress report, a special committee of the general council has been appointed to investigate the application of the principle of the 40-hour week in industry, and has issued a questionnaire to all affiliated unions asking for information regarding the method of applying the 40-hour week, the existing hours of labour, shifts, etc., the probable effects of the 40-hour week on costs, and the effects of modern development in industrial technique on the health and efficiency of the workers. It is stated that it is hoped to present a full report to Congress this year. My right hon. Friend hopes that in the discussions which, as announced in the reply to the hon Member for Aberdare (Mr. G. Hall) on 16th February, he proposes to have with the Trades Union Congress and the National Confederation of Employers' Organisations on the absorption of workers into industry, information of this kind will be made available in due course. It is obviously necessary, before coming to any conclusion on so important a subject, to have full knowledge of such matters as those into which the General Council is inquiring.

asked the Postmaster-General whether any meetings have yet been held of the Post Office Advisory Council; what interests each member of this council is considered to represent; and what functions the council will fulfil?

The first meeting of the council was held on Tuesday, the 7th instant. The members of the council are appointed by reason of their personal qualifications and not as representatives of particular interests. The council will, in accordance with the recomendation of the Bridgeman Committee, be consulted by me on questions of general policy and be generally regarded as a connecting link between the Post Office and the public.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether the Cinematograph Fund, for which money began to be set aside by local licensing authorities out of Sunday cinema receipts as from 1st February, 1933, is still avail- able for all concerned in the development of the cinema as a means of entertainment and instruction, or whether the whole or the greater part of the fund has already been earmarked for the Film Institute?

No grant from the Cinematograph Fund has been authorised, nor has a portion of the fund been earmarked for any specific body.

asked the Secretary of State for India what were the small-pox deaths in the city of Calcutta for the 10 years ending with 1920 and for the 10 years ending with 1930?

The following statement gives the information for which the hon. Member asks:

Small-Pox Deaths in the City of Calcutta.
1911	…	…	41	1921	…	…	89
1912	…	…	77	1922	…	…	450
1913	…	…	120	1923	…	…	157
1914	…	…	1,038	1924	…	…	316
1915	…	…	2,560	1925	…	…	3,923
1916	…	…	58	1926	…	…	934
1917	…	…	28	1927	…	…	2,860
1918	…	…	545	1928	…	…	558
1919	…	…	1,870	1929	…	…	393
1920	…	…	2,925	1930	…	…	1,818

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the provisions of the Press Act, 1867, to the effect that the keeping of a cyclostyle machine requires a declaration before magistrates or other officials in India, are still enforced?

A declaration under Section 4 of the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, is required if the machine is used for the printing of books or papers as defined in that Act.

asked the Secretary of State for India what were the total amounts of revenue derived from central and provincial taxation, respectively, in each of the financial years from 1919 to the latest date available?

The statistics of revenue derived from central and pro- vincial taxation are given in the annual Finance and Revenue Accounts of the Government of India, which have been presented to Parliament.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether work on the unfinished section of the Canton-Hankow railway has yet been commenced with the assistance of funds from the British Boxer indemnity, or at what date such work is likely to be commenced: and to what extent British materials will be used?

I have no information to show that work has been begun, though I have seen a Press report to that effect, but the Indemnity Board of Trustees in China have approved of certain sums being advanced to defray the cost of a survey and for construction purposes. I cannot say to what extent British materials will be used. In so far, however, as indemnity funds are utilised for the purchase of material, the matter will be governed by the terms of the indemnity agreement contained in Command Paper 3715.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, having regard to the need for national economy, if he will arrange that unspent moneys in each separate Vote for the Navy, Army, and Air Force shall be returned to the Exchequer, and that the practice of diverting money to other Votes shall cease?

I understand the hon. Member to be suggesting a change in the well-established system under which the Treasury under powers granted by the Appropriation Act may, in suitable cases, authorise transfers from one of the several Votes of any one of the Departments referred to to another Vote of the same Department, each such transfer being subsequently validated by Act of Parliament. In the absence of such a system, it would be almost unavoidable that the Departments concerned should in the first instance, in view of the great difficulty of anticipating the exact cost of the services for which they are responsible, ask authority for estimated sums which might prove excessive.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information concerning the transfer of 80,000 rifles and 200 machine guns from Italy to Hungary, via Austria; whether His Majesty's Ministers in Vienna, Rome, and Budapest have made any representations on the matter, and, if so, to what effect and with what results?

I have nothing to add to the statement which I made in this House on this subject on 7th February in the course of the Debate on the Second Reading of the Austrian Loan Guarantee Bill; except to say that the number of rifles concerned was apparently 50,000 and not 80,000 as stated by the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. T. Williams), and that the question of the future disposal of these arms is under discussion with the Austrian Government.

asked the Home Secretary why the Metropolitan authorities continue to license taximeter cabs equipped with hiring flags which are not illuminated and therefore cannot be distinguished after dark?

The existing regulations contain no requirement that special lighting for the taximeter flag on cabs shall be provided; but the Commissioner of Police informs me that approximately one half of the taxi-cabs licensed to ply for hire in the Metropolitan Police District are fitted with some form of illumination for this purpose. He has not received any complaints from the public in regard to this matter.