asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many of the officers now borne on the emergency list of the Royal Navy have received any form of naval training since the date of their last retirement from the active list; and whether it is proposed to take any action in this matter?

It is not the present practice to provide systematic naval training for officers on the emergency list, and no alteration in this practice is contemplated.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what the functions of these officers are, if they are not to have training?

The emergency list is a rather flattering name for officers retired at their own wish—I am one myself—who are ready to go to sea at any time. I think if we desired opportunity for training we should probably be given it.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of officers and ratings employed in the Admiralty yacht "Enchantress"; the last occasion on which this vessel went to sea; and the annual cost for pay of personnel and maintenance of this yacht, respectively?

There are 40 officers and ratings borne in the ship, but only 16 of these could be dispensed with if the ship were not retained. The ship has not been used by the board for her proper duties since 1929 owing to the extra expense which would be incurred. The net annual cost of keeping the ship on her present basis is £2,600 for personnel and £950 for maintenance.

Does the right hon. and gallant Gentleman think it worth while to keep this ship going, in view of the fact that she has not been to sea for many years?

I am still hoping for better times, and when those times come, I shall ask the House for enough money to commission this ship, because I think it very important in connection with the duties of the Board of Admiralty. But I assure the hon. Member I shall not ask for that money while times are bad.

Is it not a fact that the First Lord who preceded the right hon. Gentleman had this yacht re-conditioned and used her for a cruise?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the additional expenditure of tons of fuel and rounds of ammunition for the home and Mediterranean fleets to be incurred in the present financial year as compared with the previous year; and what is the financial cost of the same?

The expenditure of fuel and ammunition in the home and Mediterranean fleets has been somewhat increased by the removal of the almost penal restrictions which were necessary last year. I regret that it would not be in the public interest to publish any figures in regard to the expenditure of fuel or ammunition in the fleets.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the reasons for the delay that appears not infrequently to occur in the actual laying down of ships ordered under the programmes of new construction?

The date for a ship's completion is fixed with reference, not to the date upon which her keel is laid down, but to that on which she is ordered. When the order is given, the shipbuilders require a considerable period, varying with the circumstances of the case, for the necessary preparatory work and the purchase and assembly of material. The laying down of the keel thus marks, not the beginning of the ship's construction but the completion of an important stage thereof.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Vice-Admiral commanding the Reserve Fleet is to tour the British Isles in his cruiser flagship for his annual inspection this year; and if so, what is the estimated cost or whether, in the interests of economy, he is to travel from Portsmouth to Devonport, Chatham, and Rosyth by rail?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The annual inspection and training cruise of the Vice-Admiral Commanding, Reserve Fleet, in his flagship (His Majesty's Ship "Effingham") will be carried out this year between 17th June and 31st July, when various ports will be visited, the programme being arranged to facilitate the embarkation and disembarkation of reservists due for training. In view of the great importance of providing training opportunities for these reservists, the principal purpose of the cruise would not be served were the Vice-Admiral to travel by rail. It has not been possible in the time available to prepare an estimate of the small additional expenditure involved.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the estimated expense in the present financial year of running His Majesty's Ship "Centurion" as a fleet target ship with the attendant destroyer His Majesty's Ship "Shikari"?

The estimated expense in the present financial year of running these two vessels is £50,200.

Has the Admiralty any scientific means of registering the accuracy of firing without this expense?

We conaider it is the best practical experiment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the grave position of the cocoa industry in the West Indies, he intends to consider any scheme for co-operating with other Governments of cocoa-producing countries to restrict the supplies of cocoa?

I have been asked to reply. My right hon. Friend has recently received proposals for a scheme of this nature from the Governor of Trinidad, and will give them his careful consideration as soon as he has received the observations of the Governors of the Gold Coast and Nigeria, to whom particulars of the scheme have been communicated by the Governor of Trinidad.

Is it the case that plant disease is likely to restrict the production of cocoa very greatly?

I have not the slightest idea.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of new factories established in this country with or without foreign assistance, and employing 25 or more people, for each of the last six years?

I regret that the desired information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are taken by his Department to ensure that officials serving overseas whose passages are paid by the State travel solely by British ships?

It is well understood that, when passages for officials are provided by Government, they are to be booked by British ships in the absence of exceptional reasons to the contrary. The existing practice is based upon this principle, and no special steps are therefore necessary.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the total cost of the Royal Air Force displays at Hendon for the years 1929, 1930, 1931 and 1932, respectively; and whether he will consider the discontinuance of such displays, in view of the appeals for economy advocated by His Majesty's Government in all State Department?

As regards the first part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the replies which I gave to him and to the hon. Member for Gower (Mr. D. Grenfell) on 17th May last. I would, however, take this opportunity of emphasising two points. Firstly, the display is essentially a collective culmination of the annual training programme of the Royal Air Force which is in any event necessary to the maintenance of efficiency. Secondly, the whole cost of providing the necessary enclosures and stands, and other incidental expenditure at Hendon is borne by non-public funds. No additional charge is therefore imposed on the Exchequer, and consequently no economy would result if the display were discontinued in its present form.

Does the right hon. Gentleman mean to imply by that that the Royal Air Force could not possibly be efficient without these displays?

I did not say anything of the sort. I said that the particular work which is done in the displays is the culmination of the training, and that any expenditure incurred, as far as the spectators are concerned, came out of receipts.

Does the right hon. Gentleman not think the Hendon displays are indirectly the cause of many deaths from aerial acrobatics, apart from the normal necessities of air training?

No, I do not think so at all.

Do not these displays allow the electorate to see how well their money is being spent?

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has reached a decision concerning the scheme submitted to him by the Carmarthenshire County Council for a high-level bridge over the River Towy at Carmarthen?

Discussions are still proceeding between my Department and the county council regarding the cost and relative advantages of alternative schemes.

Could the hon. Gentleman give some idea as to when a decision will be reached in view of the great inconvenience caused by the present arrangements?

No, Sir.

asked the Postmaster-General, whether his attention has been drawn to the fatal accident which occurred at Penyclip, Penmaenmawr, Carnarvonshire, on the 19th instant, due to the deceased striking a telegraph pole while travelling in a van; whether the remarks of the coroner regarding the accident have been brought to his notice; and whether, in view of the danger to human life arising from the presence of telegraph poles on the roadside, he will give instructions for the immediate removal of such poles from narrow roads such as the Bangor-Conway road?

I am making inquiries, and will write to the hon. and gallant Member as soon as they are completed.

Will the hon. Gentleman suggest to the right hon. Gentleman the Postmaster-General that it is time that he gave orders to his engineering department to make a general survey of these telegraph poles on the roads throughout the country; as they are a positive source of danger in view of the present traffic growth?

I think it would be very much better to wait for the report.

asked the Minister of Transport in view of the increasing number of coloured-light traffic signals, what steps he is taking to protect the walking public from the dangers of filtering traffic?

The Departmental Committee on Traffic Signs gave careful consideration to this matter and deal with it in their report, which will be published shortly.

Will they also consider the question of protecting the traffic against the filtering pedestrian?

The hon. Gentleman must put that question down.

asked the Minister of Transport how many signs marked "Please cross here" have been erected in the London area; what was the cost; and whether these signs have had the effect of concentrating street crossing by pedestrians?

433 signs with the legend "Please cross here" have been erected at 216 crossings in the Metropolitan Police district at a cost of about £2,200. A large number of persons make use of the crossings indicated by the signs, and I have no reason to doubt their usefulness.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider assisting the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Darwen (Sir H. Samuel) by having one of these signs erected near the vicinity of his seat?

asked the Minister of Health if he is now in a position to state the total expenditure on all forms of Poor Law relief for the year ended 31st March, 1933?

No, Sir. I am afraid that it will be a long time before my right hon. Friend will have received from the local authorities the particulars on which a definite reply or even a valid estimate could be based.

Will the hon. Gentleman be able to give a definite answer before the end of the Session?

I am afraid not. I am afraid that I misled the hon. Gentleman last time. We received last March the actual expenditure in respect of the previous year.

Can we get it when we meet again, seeing how necessary these figures are in connection with the discussions that will take place an unemployment insurance? Will he at least see that the hon. Gentleman gets the figures when we meet after the Recess?

We shall not get the items of actual expenditure till early in the new year.

Is it not very necessary, in view of the important discussions on unemployment insurance, to get at least some basis of figures when the new Bill is introduced after the Recess?

I will consider that.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what report he has received as to the demonstration carried out at Sorn, Ayrshire, on 24th May regarding the efficacy of certain draining machines, drag-line buckets, and turf-cutting machines; and whether he is satisfied that these machines have proved thoroughly satisfactory for their purposes at this test?

I have read with interest a Press report of the demonstration to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers, but no detailed report has been received. I am glad to see that the tests confirm the favourable impression created by previous experi- ments with such machines in Lewis, as recorded in articles in the Scottish Journal of Agriculture for April, 1932, and April of this year.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if he will consider the advisability of restoring the cuts in the special campaign pensions, in view of the prevailing feeling of dissatisfaction among the recipientsdue to the fact that there is no reduction made in the amount of the officers' good service pensions?

No, Sir; the change must be regarded as permanent. But I would point out that, although the pensions to which my hon. Friend refers are not comparable, the rate of the special campaign pension has been substantially increased since the War, whilst the rates of annuities to officers and soldiers for meritorious service have remained unchanged since before the War.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if it is proposed to hold a review for the London divisions of the Territorial Army in place of the review that was cancelled on 24th June; and, if so, is he in a position to state when?

I regret that it will not be possible to arrange another date for the review this year owing to the near approach of the camping season.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he will consider the advisability of proposing to the Irish Free State the submission of the question in dispute about the payment of the land annuities to a tribunal of five members, consisting of two members chosen by each country from within the British Empire, and a chairman from outside the British Empire nominated by the four members already selected?

The position of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom regarding the constitution of a tribunal to settle disputes between two members of the British Commonwealth of Nations has been explained on many occasions by my right hon. Friend, more especially in the Debate in the House on 4th July last, and I cannot add anything to what he has said on the subject.

Is the Dominions Office aware of the great injury that is being done to the British Empire by the prolongation of this dispute and the embitterment caused by it, and has the Dominions Office no suggestion to make to bring it to an end?

We have made various suggestions for bringing it to an end, and we shall always be ready to reach a reasonable settlement.

Does the hon. Gentleman not think the National Government are strong enough to make a concession in a matter of this kind, which, after all, is largely one of punctilio?

What are the various suggestions that have been made for a settlement? Is it not a fact that there has only been one suggestion, and that this is the only alternative that is likely to bring about a settlement?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Debates which I have mentioned.

Is there not a very great matter of principle involved in this dispute? I hope the Government will take very great care—

Order!

asked the hon. and gallant Member for Rye, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, how many acres have already been planted under the Forestry Commission scheme in the county of Carnarvon; what is the number of acres now in course of being planted; and what is the programme of planting for the next five years?

5,144 acres have already been planted by the Forestry Commission in the county of Carnarvon, including 54V in the season recently ended; the programme of planting for the next five years is 2,675 acres.

Do those figures represent the normal development in planting, or are we to understand from the plantings this year that there has been a period of diminution since the present Government took office?

No. This is the normal programme in respect of the planting land which the Forestry Commission have in hand or in sight.

Have not the sums available to the Forestry Commission been materially reduced in the past two years?

Oh, certainly.

Will the hon. and gallant Gentleman say what proportion of acres planted have been replanted and what proportion have been new planting altogether?

I think the whole of these are new planting, so far as the Forestry Commission are concerned. Whether under former owners some portion of them were woodland, I cannot say.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount of Surtax collected in 1931 from the 12,000 persons who in 1932 dropped below the level at which liability to Surtax would fall upon them?

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present nominal loss per cent. made by the Issue Department of the Bank of England on gold purchased for the Exchange Equalisation Account; whether that loss is made good to the Issue Department from the funds of the Ex- change Equalisation Account; and whether credit is taken by the Exchange Equalisation Account for the gold held on its behalf by the Bank of England at the current day-to-day price?

No loss is incurred by the Issue Department of the Bank of England in consequence of the purchase of gold for the Exchange Equalisation Account. Where gold is purchased or sold on account of the Issue Department itself, the accounting arrangements are governed by the terms of Section 25 of the Finance Act, 1932, to which I would refer my hon. Friend.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any communication has passed since 22nd June between His Majesty's Government and the German Government or the Bank of International Settlements with regard to the proposal by the German Government to default on its declaration of good faith at the time of issue to maintain both interest and sinking fund on the London portion of the German Government International 5½ Per Cent. Loan, 1930?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons thrown out of employment as the result of the closing down of the 355 factories during last year?

(Mr. R. S. Hudson): I regret that this information is not available.

Does it not seem strange to hold an inquiry such as was held last year into the number of foreign factories established in this country and the number of persons employed in those new factories, and yet we cannot get the information as to the number of men displaced by the closing down of other factories?

The information was got in respect of new factories, and if the hon. Member wants information about those closed down, I will consult my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade as to whether he can get it.

Were not these factories closed down because of the Labour Government?

May I ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether he has not seen the question which I put to the President of the Board of Trade?

Will my hon. Friend not only obtain the figures for this year, but the figures for 1930 and 1931 so that the House can judge of the improvement of trade?

I do not know whether those figures are available, or, if they were, whether the hon. Member for Aberdare (Mr. G. Hall) would like them.

Has not the hon. Gentleman seen the question which I put to the President of the Board of Trade with regard to the opening of new factories for the past six years?

Yes, I have seen that question.

asked the Minister of Labour if Employment Exchanges are able to secure cash direct from the post offices for the purpose of paying unemployment benefit?

The course suggested in the question, though perhaps theoretically possible, would be administratively very inconvenient, and is in practice not adopted.

Is it not true to say that the Employment Exchanges can get cash from some post offices for the purpose of paying unemployment benefit, and does the answer imply that the Exchanges are not getting any cash from post offices for paying benefit?

The Employment Exchanges do not get cash from post offices for the payment of benefit except in a few cases of outlying Exchanges where benefit has to be paid at a distance and where the Exchanges are able to get money orders on the Post Office.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are post offices in the country to which the managers of the Employment Exchanges actually proceed with their bags and receive money with which to pay out unemployment benefit?

Not that I am aware of. The practice of Exchange managers is to get any cash they require from the local bank.

Will the hon. Gentleman take advantage of his position to get to know the real truth about these withdrawals from the Post Office?

I should be pleased to have any information which the hon. Member has in support of his allegation, but as far as I know it is not done.

Will the hon. Gentleman take note for the future that money is available in a State Department for the purpose of paying benefit; why should the Ministry of Labour go to a private bank when the cash is available in a State Department?

Because it is administratively very much more convenient, and costs very much less.

Are people allowed to have in the Post Office Savings Bank accounts of the size that would be required?

asked the Minister of Labour the number of women who have been refused benefit by tribunals administering the Anomalies Act and the number of such women who have been refused benefit who continue to register as being available for employment?

Between 19th October, 1931, and 31st May, 1933, 237,252 claims by women were disallowed by courts of referees in Great Britain under the Anomalies Regulations. I regret that the statistics do not enable me to give the number of separate individuals whose claims were so disallowed, or the number who continue to register for employment after disallowance.

Will the hon. Gentleman tell the House what is the difference in number and what has been the falling off in the number of women registered since disqualification?

I shall be glad to get the figures if the hon. Gentleman will put down a question.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the attention of His Majesty's Government has been drawn to the protest lodged with the League of Nations by the Hungarian National Society in regard to the atrocities committed on unarmed and unoffending Hungarian nationals by a group of Rumanian peasants in Transylvania on 29th May; and, if so, what action His Majesty's Government propose to take in the matter?

No, Sir; in view of the statement contained in my hon. and gallant Friend's question that this protest had been lodged with the League of Nations, I caused inquiries to be made of the League Secretariat and so far as I can learn no such protest has been lodged. On the other hand, it has been announced in Budapest that the Rumanian Government have informed the Hungarian Government that an energetic inquiry was to be made into the incident which appears to be referred to, and that the Hungarian Government would be made acquainted in due course with the final result of this inquiry.

Is the right hon. Gentleman then not aware that in the Hungarian House of Commons a statement was made by the Hungarian Foreign Minister that a protest was being lodged with the League of Nations in respect of this outrage?

I am not aware of it. I took note of the fact that my hon. and gallant Friend made a statement in his question which I had to investigate, and my information is that my hon. and gallant Friend was misinformed when he stated that a protest had been lodged with the League of Nations.