asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will consider the appointment of a Moslem adviser to the Viceroy?

The Governor-General already has a Moslem member of his Executive Council.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is now in a position to state the amount of expenditure incurred in concession passages between India and the United Kingdom for the 12 months ended 30th September last; and how much of the total amount was used for passages in ships flying the British flag?

£405,739, of which £352,953 was used for passages in ships flying the British flag.

Can my right hon. Friend now say what reply has been received from our Ambassador in Rome to the inquiries made of him regarding the prohibition against Italian officials travelling by British ships and the compelling of them to travel in Italian bottoms?

That question should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the proportion is increasing in our favour or is against us?

No, Sir, not without notice.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that British steamship lines have now reduced their fares to the same level as those of Continental lines and thus removed the chief objection to travel by British ships?

asked the Secretary of State for India what action the Government of India propose to take in response to the representations from the Indian Medical Association with regard to the exclusion of Indian medical licentiates from the provisions of the Medical Council Bill?

I have not heard what action the Government of India propose to take. As the hon. Member is no doubt aware, the Indian Medical Council Bill has been referred to a Select Committee of the Legislative Assembly.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he will state the nature of the legislative proposals of the Government of India to carry out the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Indian Labour relating to the control of deductions from the wages of Indian workers?

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for India when the Joint Committee on the Indian Constitution will be set up and when the Bill is likely to be introduced?

I hope that Parliament will authorise the setting up of the Joint Select Committee before Easter. The date on which a Bill can be introduced must depend on the work of the Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for India what reply he has sent to the appeal sent to him on behalf of the 30,000,000 Moslems of the Punjab, the North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir, Sindh, and Beluchistan, setting forth their fears of Hindu domination in an all-India federation, and asking for a separate federation of these five northern units; and whether, in view of the representations contained in this appeal, he will say what further safeguards he proposes for minority communities in India?

I have seen copies of a printed circular, distributed from an address at Cambridge, bearing the names of four gentlemen who claim to speak for 30,000,000 of their fellow Moslems. As I am in constant communication with many representative Moslems, it did not seem to me necessary to take any special action in connection with this letter. As regards the last part of the question, I must ask my hon. and gallant Friend to await the Government's proposals.

asked the Secretary of State fur India what steps the Government of India and His Majesty's Government have under consideration with a view to the unification of Ceylon with the future federal Government of India?

No such steps are under consideration.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the inhabitants of Ceylon have expressed any desire to come into the federation?

That is a question which should be addressed to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in view of the announcement of his decision to hand over the Indian police to responsible Ministers in the provinces, he will state what safeguards he proposes to ensure the future efficiency of this force?

I must ask my hon. and gallant Friend to await the Government's proposals which are shortly to be published.

Will the right hon. Gentleman state whether British police officers will be placed under a responsible Minister?

I have just told my hon. and gallant Friend that he must await the Government's proposal.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us when they will publish these proposals?

If my hon. Friend had listened to an answer I gave two minutes ago, he would have heard me say that I hope the Joint Select Committee will be set, up before Easter.

But may I hope for a definite date?

Certainly.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the appeal against the sentence imposed upon the Meerut prisoners has been lodged by them or on their behalf; and are they undergoing hard labour until the date of the hearing of the appeal?

Two prisoners up to the present have actually filed appeals. I am informed that all the prisoners are being employed on light labour, which is of a merely nominal character, in order to facilitate the preparation of appeals.

asked the Secretary of State for India when it is expected that the appeals in the Meerut conspiracy case will be beard by the high court at Allahabad; and whether he will take steps to see that the hearing of the appeals is expedited?

The Government of India inform me that the High Court is not likely to be able to hear appeals in this case before the vacation, which covers May and June. The High Court is, however, being asked to fix as early a date as possible after the vacation.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he is aware of the action of the authorities at Allaha- bad in prohibiting a commemoration meeting which was to have been presided over by Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, one of the Round Table Conference delegates; is he aware that the meeting was being organised by non-Congressmen; and will he state the reason for prohibition?

The meeting was prohibited because it was proposed to hold it in Parshotamdas Park within the civil lines where previous similar gatherings had caused obstruction and annoyance to persons lawfully employed. The organisers, who included several members of Congress were informed that there would be no objection to a meeting anywhere outside the civil lines.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that of the nine persons charged with the responsibility of organising the meeting there were only two who were members of the Congress and that the meeting had no connection whatsoever with Congress; and, as one of the Round Table delegates was to preside over the meeting, does the right hon. Gentleman think it was justifiable to stop it?

I am not aware of the facts just stated by the hon. Member. The meeting was prohibited for one reason and for one reason only, namely, that at this particular place, in the centre of the civil lines, it would have led to obstruction and trouble. There was no reason why the meeting should not have been held outside the city.

As Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was a thoroughly capable and desirable delegate to the Round Table Conference, will the right hon. Gentleman consider whether any such meeting presided over by him should have been prohibited in the special area referred to?

Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru was one of the most useful and valued members of the conference, and we shall be glad to hear him make a speech at any time. In this case the prohibition had nothing to do with him, but simply with the place of meeting. The meeting was to be in the centre of the town, and it would have led to obstruction, and possibly to trouble, and that was the sole reason why it was prohibited.

asked the Secretary of State for India what is the total amount received in respect of collective fines imposed on Chittagong and certain Midnapore villages; and for what purpose the amount so received has been allocated?

I have no later figure for the amount collected in the Chittagong area than that given in reply to the question asked by the hon. Member for South-East Leeds (Major Milner) on the 13th February, but the latest reports received by me state that collection is proceeding slowly but steadily. In the Midnapore district fines amounting to Rs.4,720 were imposed between August and November of last year but I have no information as to the amount that has been collected. These fines would ordinarily be credited to the general revenue of the province, but there is power to award compensation from them to persons injured in person or property as the result of the unlawful acts leading to the imposition of the fine.

Does the right hon. Gentleman not consider that the time has come to arrest the exaction of these fines from a community large numbers of whom are entirely innocent of any wrong doing at all?

There is a very obvious way in which the process of the fines can be arrested, and that is for the civil population to help us to arrest the terrorists.

Is there any reason to suppose that these innocent people have any more knowledge as to the whereabouts of the terrorists than the right hon. Gentleman's own officers?

Yes, I am afraid that we do think that among the civil population there are certain people who do know a great deal about the terrorists.

If the right hon. Gentleman knows who are concealing these offenders, why does he not deal with them?

I have great faith in the Governor of the province, Sir John Anderson; his experience in these matters is unrivalled; and I am prepared to leave the operation of this process in his hands.

asked the Secretary of State for India what steps the Government of India propose to take for the purpose of encouraging the development of civil aviation in India?

I would refer the hon. Member to the report on the Progress of Civil Aviation in India for 1931–32, of which I am placing a copy in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for India what is the number of licences at present in existence in India for wireless receiving sets; and what steps the Government of India propose to take with a view to the development of broadcasting in India and to the prohibition of piracy in connection with the broadcasting service?

As regards the first part of the question I have no information. As regards the second part the Government of India, with a view to the prevention of piracy, have introduced in the Legislative Assembly a Bill prohibiting the possession without licence of wireless apparatus.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether, in order to provide increased opportunities for Indian trade, the Government of India will consider making further appointments to trade commissionerships in Europe and elsewhere?

I understand that for reasons of economy the Government of India do not propose at present to appoint any more trade commissioners.

asked the Secretary of State for India what is the total number of Indians who have been repatriated from the Union of South Africa during the year 1932; and whether they have been provided for under the assisted emigration scheme?

The complete figures for 1932 are not yet available, but in the first eight months the number repatriated under the assisted emigration scheme was about 1,400.

asked the Secretary of State for India the nature of the inquiry now under consideration by the Government of India with regard to the cost of cultivation of cotton and sugar-cane and their rotation crops?

I have no information.

asked the Secretary of State for India what measures are now under consideration by the Government of India for increasing the consumption in Great Britain of long-staple Indian cotton, having regard to the Indo-British trade agreement concluded at the Ottawa Conference?

I understand that the Indian Central Cotton Committee proposes to organise demonstration tests in Lancashire. I have no other information.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he is aware of the resolution passed by the Legislative Council of the Central Provinces in January of this year demanding the creation of Berar as a separate province with full financial and legislative authority; whether the matter is receiving the attention of the Government of India; and what action it is proposed to take?

The question of the arrangements to be made in respect of Berar under a Federal Constitution is under consideration, and I am not in a position to make any statement on the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for India what action the Government of India propose to take with a view to putting into effect the recommendation of the Central Banking Inquiry Committee for the establishment of joint stock land-mortgage banks to provide long-term loans?

I have not yet received from the Government of India any recommendation on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether His Majesty's Government, in their arrangements for the naval security of Indians coasts, Indian ports, and Indian sea-borne trade, will consider the advisability, in consultation with the Government of India, of admitting Indians to the Indian naval service?

Indians are already admitted to the Royal Indian Marine.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether the future of Burma will be dealt with in the White Paper to be issued before Easter; and whether His Majesty's Government have yet arrived at any decision on the separation or federation question as regards this province?

The decision between separation from India and inclusion in the proposed Indian Federation still rests with the people of Burma, whose representatives in the Legislative Council have as yet given no clear indication of their choice between the two alternatives which alone are open. The White Paper on Indian Reforms will not therefore deal specifically with the ease of Burma.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether it is the intention of His Majesty's Government to convene another Burma Round Table Conference for the further consideration of the question of the separation of Burma from India; and, if so, when it is proposed that the Conference shall meet?

No, Sir. His Majesty's Government are not of opinion that any useful purpose would be served by a Conference to discuss this question.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he will give an assurance that the operations of the Punjab Land Alienation Act will not be extended to the Province of 'Delhi in view of the hardships which it entails?

The matter is not one in which I should wish to interfere with the discretion of the authorities in India.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether this matter has been considered by the Government of India?

I think I had better have notice of that question. I am not quite sure.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether in view of the representations made to the Government of India for the removal of the import duty on raw cinema films in India, he will say what steps they propose to take for the encouragement of the Indian film industry?

As a consequence of the Ottawa Agreement, the Indian import duty on United Kingdom raw films has been reduced to 15 per cent., that on other raw films remaining at 25 per cent. The Government of India have also abolished a Customs concession which was until recently accorded to films printed abroad from Indian negatives.

Is it not true that, in spite of the Ottawa Agreements, there is a 15 per cent. customs duty against this country?

The hon. Member will see that in consequence of the Ottawa Agreements the duty has been reduced to 15 per cent.

It is still the fact, therefore, that there is a 15 per cent. duty against us in India in spite of the Ottawa Agreements?

The hon. Member really puts a wrong construction on my answer. My answer goes to show that the duty has been reduced, and that the British preference is greater now than it was before the Ottawa Agreements.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department if he can give the House any information as to the results of the British Industries Fair in London and Birmingham; the number of visitors to each section, buyers, and general public; the approximate value of orders placed, together with the figures of the particular industries represented; and the number of new industries or firms showing for the first time?

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department the approximate amount of business transacted in the textile section of the British Industries Fair this year, and how this compares with the amount transacted last year?

The results of the British Industries Fair have been most satisfactory. In the majority of trades business is reported to have been secured on a scale comparable with that of the 1932 Fair which was regarded as the most successful of the series.

Can the hon. and gallant Gentleman say how the figures that he has just read out compare with the figures for the previous year?

The figures are not all strictly comparable, because certain administrative changes have been made this year with regard to entry which affected the number of home buyers. The numbers of foreign buyers were practically the same. The number of home buyers showed a decrease, for the reason I have mentioned; but the general opinion is that the volume of buying has not been affected by these administrative changes.

So far as the exhibition of heavy trades at the Birmingham Fair is concerned, is there not universal satisfaction at the increase of foreign buyers, and the prospect of orders to come, on the part of the exhibitors there?

Yes, Sir, that has been expressed.

Is my hon. and gallant Friend satisfied that the charge of an entrance fee of 2s. has not done any harm, and is it intended that the same policy shall be pursued in the future?

It is early to say yet, but my opinion is that it has not done any harm; and, furthermore, it makes the Fair now entirely self-supporting, without any assistance being required from public funds.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether it is intended this spring to publish a report from our commercial counsellor at Moscow on similar lines to that issued as Command Paper 3904, in May, 1931?

Numerous changes in the structure of Soviet trading organizations have taken and are taking place. A record of these is being kept and is available for consultation by those who are interested. As soon as practicable, arrangements will be made for publishing the revised information.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any information to show what is the aggregate tonnage of foreign shipping at present in existence which was previously owned by British firms and sold at second-hand to foreign owners?

I regret that the information desired by my hon. and gallant Friend is not available.

Will my hon. Friend request his right hon. Friend to use his influence to ensure that when our shipping is broken up it shall not be sold to foreign countries who have no Board of Trade regulations similar to ours and are, therefore, able to compete with our shipping very unfairly?

I think that the whole question of what to do with obsolete tonnage is constantly under consideration by my right hon. Friend.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what action he proposes to take with reference to the large increase in the imports of cotton textile and rayon goods into the countries of the Empire which seriously affect employment in Lancashire?

I assume that my hon. Friend has in mind the question of Japanese competition, which is now under consideration by His Majesty's Government. I cannot at present add to the statements recently made on this subject.

asked the Prime Minister whether he can now undertake to lay before this House a White Paper giving full details of the schemes for the alleviation of unemployment which the Government have now under consideration?

This is the same question as the one which the hon. Member addressed to me last Thursday. Some misunderstanding arose on that occasion, and I am obliged to the hon. Member for giving me this opportunity to clear it up. The policy of the Government in regard to schemes for the provision of work for the unemployed was indicated during the course of the Debate on the 16th February, and in these circumstances I do not think that any useful purpose would be served at this moment by adopting the course suggested by the hon. Member.

Does that answer mean that the Government are not considering any schemes to alleviate unemployment?

Quite the opposite; I referred the hon. Member to the place where he will find a statement about those schemes.

On the 16th February. There is nothing there that helps us. Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us now: are the Government considering any schemes, or have they considered any schemes, to deal with this important matter?

I cannot go beyond the answer I have just given to the hon. Member's question.

rose—

Mr. Levy.

I have only asked two supplementary questions.

asked the Minister of Health whether it is his intention to issue a communication to local authorities to the effect that schemes of approved work may be begun without delay or, if begun, may be completed, with a view to the mitigation of unemployment in the building industry and associated industries?

It is not intended to issue a further communication. I have no reason to think that local authorities are delaying to proceed with approved works through any misunderstanding of the position.

asked the Minister of Health with regard to the schemes put forward by the Easington Rural District Council for the purpose of providing work for 66 men in the Seaham Division and carrying out improvements for the health of the district, whether he will reconsider his refusal to sanction these schemes and inquire further into the advisability of adopting them?

I understand that the question refers to certain schemes of sewerage which the council are preparing. I have not yet received an application for sanction to a loan. Any such application will be considered in the light of the policy of the Government as explained to the House on 15th ultimo.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether he is prepared to sanction the building of the proposed new Employment Exchange in Colegate Street, Norwich, in place of that in Prince of Wales Road, which is now altogether inadequate?

Yes, Sir. Tenders have been obtained for the building of the new Norwich Employment Exchange, and it is hoped to begin work shortly.

In view of the considerable unemployment in the building trades in Norwich, will my right hon. Friend give an assurance that this matter will be expedited especially seeing that it was incontinently turned down by the late Labour Government in the person of the present Leader of the Opposition?

I think that there is a long history behind it, and there is still a little matter to be cleared up about a bit of land ten feet by six. Beyond that, the difficulties have now been overcome, and there is no reason why, the tenders now being in, we should not decide on the tenders at once.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons registered as unemployed in Great Harwood, Lancashire, in September, 1931, and on the latest date for which figures are available?

I have been asked to reply. At 21st September, 1931, there were 7,828 unemployed persons on the registers of the Great Harwood Employment Exchange. At 23rd January, 1933, the number was 4,377.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what progress has been made in the restriction of imports of mutton, bacon, and dairy produce from Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries with currencies depreciated in relation to sterling?

I regret I have nothing to add at present to the replies which were given on 9th February and 2nd March, respectively, to my hon. Friends the Member for Colchester (Mr. Lewis> and the Member for the City of Chester (Sir C. Cayzer), of which I am sending him copies.

When does the right hon. Gentleman expect to be able to give a reply? Is it not a fact that depreciated currencies in New Zealand and Australia are a breach of the Ottawa Agreements?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will take steps to see that all cooled, cold-stored, or gas-stored poultry eggs in shell imported into this country shall be marked with indelible ink with the appropriate description?

In the absence of international agreement on this question it is not possible to enforce the marking, with appropriate descriptions, of eggs that have been kept in cold or gas storage outside this country. All such imported eggs are, however, required to bear an indication of the country of origin or the word "Empire" or "Foreign," as the case may be.

Will the Government reconsider their attitude towards the Imported Foodstuffs (Marking) Bill, which was talked out by the Liberal apposition a fortnight ago, and which would have dealt with this matter?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can give the House any information as to the progress of the committee inquiring into the possibility of marking all imported dead poultry with the name of the country of origin or the word Imported in some permanent manner and in a prominent position on the carcase?

The Standing Committee under the Merchandise Marks Act, 1926, to which the hon. and gallant Member refers, is inquiring into an application for an Order in Council requiring the marking of all imported meat, bacon, ham and meat offals as well as of poultry. I understand that considerable evidence has been taken by the Committee in respect of meat, bacon and ham, and that when this part of the inquiry has been completed poultry will be the next commodity to be considered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, considering the present price of potatoes and the stocks of potatoes at present in this country, he will consider the advisability of temporarily prohibiting their importation?

I have no powers to take the action suggested by my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that the Irish Free State Government is offering a higher bounty on potatoes for export to Great Britain from their wart-disease scheduled districts than on potatoes from their clean areas; and if he will take steps to prohibit the importation of such potatoes into Great Britain?

The sale of Irish potatoes in this country, whether for planting or for consumption, is governed by the Wart Disease of Potatoes Order of 1923, of which I am sending a copy to my hon. Friend. I have no reason to question the efficacy of these Regulations, but if my hon. Friend has any evidence to the contrary I shall be happy to consider it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the amount of wheat subsidy that has been paid to farmers in the county of Norfolk by the Wheat Commissioners up to the last available date; and the amount assigned by farmers to landowners, banks and merchants for the same period?

Advances amount approximately to £116,300 on account of deficiency payments have been made by the Wheat Commission to growers in Norfolk. Up to date, the Commission have received notice of 20 assignments of deficiency payments by Norfolk growers, covering about 7,300 cwts. of wheat; the advances involved amount to about £1,100.