asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the new airgram which has been introduced by the Siamese Government, with the object of providing an airmail letter weighing less than a quarter-ounce which can be carried for low rates, is free from the disadvantages of air-mail postcards, and eliminates the need for anything beyond a visual check in the Post Office; and whether, with a view to stimulating air-mail traffic on British Empire air routes, he will consider introducing a similar facility for the British public?

I would refer my Noble Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Southampton (Mr. Craven-Ellis) on 12th December last.

asked the Postmaster-General whether any conditions have been attached to the contract recently given to an American company for the supply of cinema apparatus to the Post Office Research Station, Dollis Hill, stipulating that British labour and material shall be used?

I am having inquiry made into the question asked by the hon. Member, and will furnish a reply in due course.

asked the Postmaster-General whether it will be possible to obtain an increased supply of Post Office telegraph poles from Canada in the near future in consequence of the recent fall in the value of the Canadian dollar?

Orders for the 1933 requirements of telegraph poles have already been placed; and the question of placing orders for Canadian poles is therefore not affected by present fluctuations in the dollar rate. Timber of approved species has not yet been offered to the Post Office from any Canadian source: and though I am in touch with the Canadian authorities as to the supply of samples of other species for test, considerable experience would be required before any conclusion can be drawn as to the "life" of these species in the conditions which prevail in the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Kenya Government have given any reply to protests by white settlers against the appointment of Indian police officers to the control of stations in white settled areas; arid, if so, what is the nature of such reply?

I am not aware that any such protests have been made. The second part of the question does not, therefore, arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs if he has yet received a reply to his representations to the Australian Government in respect of the prohibition by Australia of the importation of felt-hat hoods?

I understand that the report of the Tariff Board, which has not yet been published, is under consideration by His Majesty's Government in the Commonwealth of Australia with a view to submission to the Commonwealth Parliament when it meets next month.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the amount included in the Estimates for 1932–33 in respect of the grant to the Unemployment Fund for transitional payments and certain other services for the period from 30th June, 1932, to the end of the financial year, provision for which grant and services for the period 30th June, 1933, to 31st March, 1934, is not included in the Estimate now presented to Parliament; and what would be the cost of such provisions on the basis of the figure of unemployment remaining at its present level?

The answer to the first part of the question is, about £21,000,000. As regards the second part, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to day by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Croydon South (Mr. H. Williams).

asked the Minister of Labour the number of barmen and barmaids who have lost their employment during the past calendar year?

I regret that separate statistics of unemployment among batmen and barmaids are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons employed in hop picking in 1914, 1930 and 1932?

I regret that statistics giving the information desired are not available.

asked the Minister 'of Agriculture what was the acreage under barley in 1914, 1930 and 1932, respectively?

The area under barley in England and Wales in 1914, 1930 and 1932, was 1,504,771 acres, 1,020,225 acres and 960,542 acres respectively.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what further progress has been made in connection with the co-ordination of the schemes recently put forward by the representatives of the bacon manufacturers and the pig producers?

I assume that my hon. and gallant Friend refers to the various incidental matters of common interest to farmers and curers that call for negotiation between them. These questions have been under discussion by the National Farmers' Union and the Food Manufacturers' Federation, in association with Scottish representatives, and considerable progress has been made. I am in consultation with the parties as to whether further progress would be facilitated by the appointment of some such body as the Provisional Pig Industry Development Board envisaged in the Pig Commission's Report.

asked the Home Secretary how many people were killed and how many injured in 1932 by motor vehicles while boarding or alighting from tramcars?

In the Metropolitan Police district, 27 persons were killed by motor vehicles in 1932 while boarding or alighting from tramcars. I regret that I have no further information as to accidents of this particular kind.

asked the Home Secretary whether, when vacancies occur in the rank of Governor in prisons and Borstal institutions, applicants from the discipline and clerical ranks are received and considered; whether there is a selection board to advise him; and, if so, who are the members of the board?

Any applications made by members of the clerical and discipline ranks of the prison service for appointment to the rank of Governor are received and considered. When a vacancy has to be filled, the Secretary of State, before making an appointment, receives the advice of a selection board composed of representatives of the Prison Commissioners and the Civil Service Commissioners; the membership of the board varies from time to time.

asked the Lord President of the Council what amount of money has been received under the Home Office regulation of 17th January last out of the receipts from Sunday cinemas?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15th February to my hon. Friend the Member for Finchley (Mr. Cadogan).

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the increase in the number of the staff necessitated by the administration of the Import Duties Act, 1932, and the approximate annual increase in salaries?

The staff of the Customs and Excise Department has been increased since October, 1931, by 1,323 at an approximate annual cost of £265,000 in consequence of work arising out of a number of Acts, including besides the Import Duties Act, 1932, the Finance Act (Tea Duty), the Irish Free State (Special Duties) Act and the Ottawa Agreement Act. The increase has been mainly due to the first mentioned Act, but it is not possible to allocate it definitely. The staff of the Import Duties Advisory Committee (including the Chairman and members of the committee) consists of 97, estimated to cost £44,224 in the next financial year. There is also a small section in the Board of Trade, consisting at present of about 12 subordinate staff costing approximately £2,500 per annum which is necessitated by the administration of the Import Duties Act, 1932.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the estimated quantities retained for consumption in Northern Ireland of beer, spirits and wine and the estimated revenue attributed thereto for the calendar year 1932?

The approximate quantities of spirits, beer and wine retained for consumption in Northern Ireland during the calendar year 1932, and the estimated revenue attributable thereto are as follow:—

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the amount received on account of Entertainments Duty from cinema and part-cinema entertainments, and from theatrical performances, respectively, for the last three years?

I regret that the information requested is not available. Separate particulars of the receipts of Entertainments Duty from different classes of entertainments are not obtainable, because in the case of duty paid by the purchase of stamps or stamped tickets there is no official information as to the class of entertainment for which the stamps or tickets may be used.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the total cost of advertising the Conversion Loan floated last year?

The total cost of advertising the 5 per cent. War Loan conversion was £90,760.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether his attention has been drawn to the case of H. Crabtree, of 8, Lion Street, Bacup, No. 3/MC/4,886, who was granted treatment with allowances from May, 1930, until June, 1931; registered as fit for work at the Labour Exchange from June, 1931, until March, 1932, drawing unemployment benefit; again admitted to hospital from March to May, 1932, and September to December, 1932, but refused treatment allowances; and whether, in view of this and similar cases, the Minister will review the regulations governing the payment of treatment allowances in order that allowances may be paid in cases where a pensioner is removed from the labour market for the purpose of receiving treatment?

I would remind my hon. Friend that treatment allowances are, as I pointed out in the detailed answer which I gave him on 30th November last, intended to compensate for actual loss of wages or profits which would be received if the man were not undergoing treatment and, although consideration is always given to cases in which the man is no more than temporarily and for a brief period out of work, I should have no authority to deal similarly with cases in which earnings have definitely ceased for a prolonged period. Up to the time of his admission to hospital in 1933 Mr. Crabtree had done no work since 1929, except for a few hours on one occasion only, and in these circumstances he was not eligible for the special allowances. During hospital treatment, while being himself maintained free of cost, he continued to draw without deduction his pension of 28s. a week.