asked the Minister of Labour why it has been decided to appoint a commissioner to undertake the administration of the means test in Coat-bridge instead of the local town council; who is the commissioner and when he is to take over control; and is he aware that the Coatbridge Town Council, which has a Tory majority, is opposed to the decision on the ground that the administration of transitional benefit can best be exercised by a local authority whose members know the circumstances of individual cases?

I am satisfied that the administration of transitional payments by the Coatbridge Town Council is contrary to the law. I have repeatedly called the attention of the council to this but by formal resolution they declined to conform to the law. In these circumstances, I have no alternative but to exercise my powers to appoint a commissioner. The name of the commissioner and the date upon which he will take over his duties will be announced in due course. In view of the answer to the first part of the question, the last part does not arise.

asked the Minister of Labour, what steps he takes to ensure the regular attendance of members of the courts of referees; and whether he will take steps to ensure the resignation of those members who absent themselves for a full month?

Members of panels are not normally summoned more frequently than once a month. Those who fail seriously in their attendance are asked whether they wish to retain their membership of the panel. If they reply in the negative, their names are removed from the panel. If, although they reply affirmatively, there is no improvement in attendance further steps are taken, if necessary in consultation with the local employment committee.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the restrictions upon the imports of foreign fish in each of the next three years will apply to imports or to landings or to both in proportions to be decided by the foreign countries concerned; and whether restrictions upon imports of fish from countries other than those with which agreements have been made will be dependent upon agreements being reached or whether, in the absence of agreement, they will be imposed?

The restriction on imports of foreign fish will apply both to imports from foreign countries, and to direct landings from fishing boats registered in those countries. In the case of countries with which no trade agreement has been concluded, restrictions analogous to those included in the trade agreements will be imposed. The Governments of all the countries principally concerned have been informed of the proposed restrictions, and have been invited themselves to regulate the supplies of fish from their respective countries to the United Kingdom.

asked the Minister of Labour the amount of real wages per week paid to girl weavers in Japanese textile factories and girl workers in the rubber-shoe industry, including any allowances or bonus in addition to money payment; and what are the corresponding figures for female workers in these trades in this country?

I regret that the information in my possession does not enable me to give comparable particulars of the real wages paid to work-people engaged in textile weaving or in rubber shoe manufacture in Japan and Great Britain. Information with regard to the money wages of work-people employed in the textile industries and in a number of other industries in Japan is given in the Reports of the British Economic Mission to the Far East (1930–31) in the Report on "Industrial Labour in Japan" recently published by the International Labour Office, and in the Report on "Economic Conditions in Japan", recently issued by the Department of Overseas Trade. A proposal to institute a comprehensive international inquiry into conditions in the textile industries with a view to obtaining comparable statistics has been under consideration by the International Labour Organisation, but it has not yet been found possible to commence the actual collection of figures.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, if he is aware that a considerable consignment of Russian sleepers and sleeper blocks was landed at Immingham during the period of the recent embargo; whether any licence had been issued for such importation; and, if not, what action has been taken?

A licence to import at Immingham a, certain quantity of sleeper blocks and half sleepers from the Soviet Union was issued on 21st June.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a statement giving particulars of the arms and munitions and naval and military stores, not including sporting arms and munitions, in respect of which he has issued licences to export to China and Japan in April, May, and June, 1933.

The desired information for April and May was circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT on 29th June in reply to a similar question by the hon. Member for Wolverhampton East (Mr. Mander). The following statement gives the information for June.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a statement giving particulars of the arms and munitions and naval and military stores, not including sporting arms and munitions, in respect of which he has issued licences to export to Bolivia and Paraguay, Peru and Colombia, during January to June, 1933, inclusive.

asked the Home Secretary what decision, if any, has been arrived at with regard to the Metropolitan City Orphanage; and whether, in the event of the institution being closed for orphanage purposes, it is being considered for re-opening as a police college?

No decision has yet been reached. The building, even if suitable, would not in any event become available in time to be used as a police college.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will publish a comparative statement showing the hours engaged in public time by members of the Metropolitan police in police sports, entertainments, etc., and those engaged on federation duties during the last six months, and showing the number of officers wholly engaged in these respective spheres?

The information asked for could not be compiled without a very considerable expenditure of labour and time, and I hope that the hon. Member will not press for it.

asked the Home Secretary the figures for members of all categories of the county constabulary and the Metropolitan police detailed for special duty for traffic and other purposes at the southern command, Tidworth and Woolwich garrison tattoos, in the years 1929, 1930, 1931, and 1932, respectively; and whether any extra public expenditure was involved by this additional duty.

The numbers of all ranks of the Hampshire and Wiltshire County Constabularies employed on special duty in connection with the Tidworth Tattoos have been in

involving an extra-expenditure for the three years of £8 7s. 0d. in respect of travelling and refreshment allowances. The Woolwich Tattoo was not held in 1931.

asked the Home Secretary whether it is proposed to publish the minutes of evidence given before the Higgins Committee on the pay of new entrants to the police force; and, if not, to what extent Lord Trenchard's proposals, as embodied in his annual Report, were placed before the committee?

It is not proposed to publish the minutes of evidence given before this committee. They were appointed to recommend scales of pay for new entrants to the ranks of sergeant and constable in all the police forces in the country, and the proposals for the general reorganisation of the Metropolitan Police Force were not within the scope of their inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take into consideration the advisability of issuing an instruction to all magistrates in Scotland to apply the Probation of Offenders Act to all first offenders charged with minor offences; how many probation officers have been appointed in Glasgow; and what has been the effect of the probation system since they were appointed?

I have no power to issue instructions to magistrates. The desirability of avoiding short sentences of imprisonment, particularly where young persons and first offenders are involved, was emphasised in a. Scottish Office Circular issued in December, 1931, to clerks of the peace and clerks to police courts, but the matter is of course one in which courts must exercise their discretion in individual cases. Nine full-time male, and seven full-time female, probation officers have been appointed in Glasgow under the Probation of Offenders (Scotland) Act, 1931. Probation is extensively used in Glasgow, 1,360 persons being on probaton on 30th June. The foundations of an effective probation system under the 1931 Act appear to have been laid, but it is too early to generalise about results.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he intends to take with regard to the marketing scheme for the Scottish raspberry crop in view of the majority decision of producers not to operate the schemes this year; what was the market price for raspberries in 1931–32 and the present year; what is the import duty on raspberry pulp brought into this country; and what effect this has had on prices?

As the scheme failed to secure the necessary support at the poll, I am unable to take any further action. As regards the second part of the question, the fair average price for raspberries sold for jam-making purposes in 1931 was £14 to £15 per ton; in 1932, £30 to £33 per ton; in 1933, £30 to £33 per ton. A duty of 25 per cent. ad valorem has been imposed on imported raspberry pulp as from 26th April, 1932, but while the duty has probably affected prices, its effect cannot be measured definitely.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of sides of beef graded and marked, and the number graded but left unmarked, during each month of this year for which figures are available?

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the pig-export quota. as agreed with Sweden has been covered; if not, whether the balance has been assigned to any other country; and whether any of the other agreed quotas have not been covered?

Imports of bacon and hams from Sweden between 23rd November, 1932, when the voluntary arrangements for regulating imports of bacon and hams were instituted, and 23rd June, 1933, fell short of the allocations for that period by some 34,000 cwt. The answers to the second and third parts of the question are in the negative and affirmative respectively.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the reason for the delay in considering the egg-marketing scheme; and whether, in view of the increasing foreign competition, he will consider the desirability of bringing a marketing scheme into force as soon as possible?

By arrangement with the promoters, the scheme submitted in December last for regulating the marketing of eggs in England and Wales has been held in abeyance pending consideration of a request for the appointment of a Reorganisation Commission for eggs and poultry. As regards the appointment of a Reorganisation Commission, I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply which I have given to-day to my hon. Friend the Member for Ormskirk (Sir T. Rosbotham) of which I am sending my hon. and gallant Friend a copy.