asked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that, in spite of the difficulty in finding a home market for Dartmoor, New Forest, and Exmoor ponies, 300 ponies were disembarked at the port of London in 1931; and will His Majesty's Government take steps to place an embargo on imports of ponies from Russia?

The commodities included in the recent Royal Proclamation issued under the Russian Goods (Import Prohibition) Act covered the great bulk of imports into this country from Russia. Certain items of lesser financial importance for reasons of administrative convenience were not included, and among these were ponies, of which only 11 were imported into the United Kingdom from Russia last year. I do not, therefore, see my way to adopt my hon. Friend's suggestion. My hon. Friend will, of course, recognise that the Act was not passed for the purpose of protecting producers in this country.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed workers in receipt of financial assistance registered at the Tottenham. Employment Exchange, in the period 1st January to 31st March, for the years 1931, 1932, and 1933?

The following table gives the figures for which my hon. Friend asks:Number of unemployed persons on the registers of Tottenham Employment Exchange and Juvenile Employment Bureau with claims admitted for unemployment insurance benefit or transitional payments.

asked the Minister of Health the total expenditure on all forms of Poor Law relief for the year ended 31st March, 1933?

I regret that the figures for which the hon. Member asks are not yet available.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he is now in a position to make any statement on the Government's policy with regard to the hydrogenation of coal?

No, Sir. I cannot yet add anything to the answer which was given to the hon. Member on 7th February last by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

asked the Home Secretary whether it is proposed to introduce during the present Session a Bill for the consolidation and amendment of the laws relating to factories?

My right hon. Friend regrets that there is no possibility of such legislation this Session.

asked the Home Secretary if, with regard to the recent fire which occurred at a rum wharf, he will take steps to trace the cause of the outbreak, at the same time inquiring into the efficiency of the precautionary methods taken to prevent such outbreaks?

Inquiries have already been made by the factory inspectors, as well as by the Fire Brigade and the Port of London Authority, but the cause of the fire has not been ascertained, and the destruction was so great that it seems doubtful wheher any indicaion will be found. Any further inquiry possible will be made, and the question of the adequacy of the precautionary measures investigated.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can now give any definite indication that the final report of the Royal Commission on Lotteries and Betting will be available before Whitsuntide?

My right hon. Friend has made inquiries from the Royal Cora-mission, who inform him that no more definite estimate can be made than that already announced in the House, namely, that the final recommendations of the commission may be expected not later than the end of June, but they are using their best endeavours to present the report before Whitsuntide.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is able to state what steps His Majesty's Government intend to take to obtain the immediate release of Mr. W. H. Thornton, one of the Metropolitan-Vickers employés at Moscow recently sentenced to three years' imprisonment?

Since the arrest of the Metro-Vickers employés and during their trial by the Soviet authorities, I have at various times explained to the House the policy followed by His Majesty's Government for the purpose of securing their release. I will repeat that, as was stated on the introduction of the Russian Goods (Import Prohibition) Bill and reiterated in the House of Lords on behalf of the Government yesterday, the powers which the Government have obtained are for the purpose of securing as far as we can the lives and liberty of the accused and for no other purpose, and that the embargo under the Act can be removed, and will be removed, as soon as Mr. Thornton and Mr. Macdonald return safe to this country, assuming of course that the Soviet counter measures are also withdrawn.