asked the Postmaster-General, in view of the further substantial decline in the value of the Canadian dollar, whether it is now possible to obtain a larger supply of telegraph poles from Empire sources?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 27th February last to the hon. and gallant Member for the Isle of Wight (Captain P. Macdonald) from which he will see that fluctuations in the dollar rate cannot at present affect the matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the successful results of the recent Admiralty tests on rope made from Empire sisal, he proposes to take any steps to draw the attention of the British mercantile navy to the desirability of using such rope in preference to manila hemp?

Steps have already been taken by the Imperial Institute and by the Empire Marketing Board to draw the attention of British shipowners to the results of the Admiralty tests on ropes made from African sisal.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office the number and value of remounts purchased for the Army during the first quarter of 1933 from the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England and Wales; and what proportion of those purchased in Northern Ireland were of Irish Free State origin?

The number for England, Wales and Scotland was 64 remounts at £4,547; and for Northern Ireland 18 remounts at £1,150. No remounts were purchased in the Irish Free State. I am unable to say whether any of those purchased in Northern Ireland were of Irish Free State origin.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of men and women registered as unemployed at each Employment Exchange in Durham administrative county, including the boroughs, for the month of April, 1932 and 1933,

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he is aware that the number of cases of ill-treatment of horses and ponies in mines is as high as 61 in Durham, 54 in South Yorkshire, and as low as four in South Wales and nine in West Yorkshire, during the three years ended 1931;. and whether he will

The following table gives the information desired:direct an inquiry to be made regarding this disparity?

If my hon. Friend will compare the figures which he quotes with the numbers of horses employed in the respective districts, he will find that the disparity between Durham and West Yorkshire largely disappears. I am aware that the proportion of cases reported in South Yorkshire still remains high, and that for South Wales low, as compared with the proportions for the two other districts, and I will have some further inquiry made into the matter. The figures are aggregated from an annual return made by each colliery company, and this in turn is compiled from reports made to the manager by horse-keepers and officials in charge of drivers. In these circumstances, it is very difficult to ensure uniformity of compilation, and I am sure it would not be right to draw from these figures the conclusion that there is in fact more actual ill-treatment in the one district than the other. I am satisfied from extensive inquiries made by my predecessors that deliberate ill-treatment of horses in mines is very rare.

asked the Secretary for Mines the type and usual size of the horses employed in the anthracite pits in South Wales; the respective weights of empty and full trams usually drawn by these horses below ground; the number of tons usually drawn by these horses per shift worked; the number of shifts worked per week; the general rise or dip of the roads, apart from levels, on which the horses work; and the average cost of each horse per week?

There is some variation in the type of horse used in anthracite mines in South Wales according to the service required by the conditions of the particular pit. The type most commonly used is the small shire or light cart horse of about 14.2 hands. The usual weght of trams is about 10 cwts. empty and 30–36 cwts. loaded. As regards the latter parts of the question, it would be misleading to consider the relation of the task of a horse to its capacity in terms of averages or in relation only to the factors mentioned, without consideration of other important factors involved. It is essentially a matter which calls for care and judgment in the individual case, and from reports of inspections made I have no reason to think that such care and judgment are not being properly exercised in the anthracite pits. I regret that I am unable to furnish the desired information as to cost.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of cases of contraven- tion of the regulations in regard to the care and treatment of horse and ponies employed in mines reported to the inspectors of mines in 1932; the number of separate prosecutions or charges made as a result of these reports, convictions secured, and the amount paid in costs and fines; the number of prosecutions and convictions under the Protection of Animals Act and the fines or other form of punishment imposed in the same year; and whether these cases are confined to a few coalfields or are common to all coalfields?

Including anonymous complaints, there were 46 cases reported to the mines inspectors in 1932 in which the provisions of the Coal Mines Act, 1911, relating to animals were contravened or alleged to have been contravened. All the complaints were investigated and appropriate action taken in those which were considered to be justified. Prosecutions were instituted by the colliery owners in 17 instances, 11 under the Coal Mines Act and six under the Protection of Animals Act, the number of separate convictions being nine and four respectively, and the fines imposed (including costs) amounting to £19 11s. and £11 4s. The North-Western Division is the only one in which there were no complaints reported, but over 80 per cent. of them (including all the convictions) relate to the Northern, Yorkshire and Midland and Southern Divisions.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he is aware that the death and injury rates to the ponies employed in the South Yorkshire Division were more than twice as high during the three years ended 1931 as compared with those relating to the ponies employed in the West Yorkshire Division in the same period; and whether, having regard to the circumstance that the death and injury rates, as a result of accidents, was one in three, one in three, and one in four, for 1929, 1930, and 1931, respectively, in the South Yorkshire Division, he will direct that special attention shall be given by His Majesty's inspectors of mines in order to bring about an improvement?

I am aware that for the three years ended 30th June, 1931, the death and injury rates to horses employed in the mines of South Yorkshire were much higher than in West Yorkshire, the chief reason being that in the latter district the conditions are less dangerous, largely because, owing to the relative shallowness of the mines, it is easier to keep the roads in a more settled condition. The same factor operates in regard to accidents to persons, as was shown in the Divisional Inspector's report for 1929. His Majesty's inspectors of mines already give the matter their unremitting attention, and will continue to do so, and by the efforts of all concerned

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs if he can now state whether he intends to take any action, and, if so, of what nature, with regard to the Report of the Royal Commission which has investigated the grievances of the British settlers in Victoria?

I understand that the report is receiving the careful consideration of the Victorian Government. I am keeping in touch with the situation through the United Kingdom representative in Australia.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which of the Crown Colonies, respectively, have the accident rate has been reduced from a figure o 32 per cent. in 1930 to a corresponding figure of 23 in 1931 and of 22 in 1932.

asked the Secretary for Mines the output per man shift worked for the years 1921–1932; and the correspondign figures for Lancashire?

The information so far as particulars are available is as follows:and have not already passed and put into operation Workmen's Compensation Acts?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of 9th March, 1932, to the hon. Member for Chester-le-Street (Mr. Lawson), in which the position as regards Workmen's Compensation Ordinances in the Colonial Dependencies was fully set out. I should add, in regard to the last paragraph of that reply, that Workmen's Compensation Ordinances have now been enacted in the Straits Settlements, the Federated Malay States, and in St. Helena, but have not yet been brought into operation. Several of the other Dependencies mentioned in that paragraph (and one or two others) have submitted Bills providing for workmen's compensation, or amending the existing legislation on the subject, and these Bills are at present receiving my consideration.