asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what have been the total contributions of this country to the League of Nations since its inception; whether this figure includes the cost of sending delegates to and from Geneva; and, if not, what is the approximate total cost of this latter item for the same period

The total amount of the contributions of His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to the expenses of the League of Nations (apart from the expenses of the International Labour Office) is £1,016,752 from the date of the inception of the League up to and including the present year. This sum does not include the expenses of delegations sent from this country to Geneva, which, up to the end of October, 1933, amount to £158,734 (exclusive of the cost, of delegations to meetings of the International Labour Organisation).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the precise nature of the technical recommendations made by the Advisory Committee of the League of Nations Assembly regarding the non-recognition of Manchukuo?

The recommendations of the Advisory Committee concerned:

1. The ineligibility of "Manchukuo" as a party to general international conventions.

2. A reminder that "Manchukuo" was not a member of the Universal Postal Union.

3. The objections to any official quotation of the "Manchukuo" currency on exchange markets.

4. The risks to which members of the League might at their own discretion desire to call the attention of their nationals in regard to the acceptance of appointments or concessions from the "Manchukuo Government."

5. The non-recognition of "Manchukuo" passports.

6. The impropriety of action by consular officers in "Manchukuo" which might be interpreted as recognising the authorities now in power as the proper Government of the country.

7. The steps to be taken or avouled in cases of the proposed consignment of opium or other dangerous drugs to "Manchukuo."

asked the Minister of Agriculture when he hopes to be able to make a statement as to the result of his conversations with representatives of tithe payers and tithe owners?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is yet in a position to make any statement as to the result of his recent meetings with deputations representative of tithe payers and tithe owners; and whether the Government are prepared to set up a Commission to examine the position which has arisen as a result of the Act of 1925?

I am not at present in a position to add anything to the reply I gave on 13th November to my hon. Friend the Member for Kidderminster (Sir J. Wardlaw-Milne) on this subject.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of separate ignitions of firedamp reported during the last years, with the loss of life and cases of personal injuries resulting therefrom; and whether he is satisfied that the provisions of the Mines Act regarding ventilation are being fully enforced?

For the five years 1928–1932 inclusive the total number of explosions resulting in personal injury of any kind was 277, of which 196 were die to the use of naked lights. The total number of persons killed was 316, including 27 in naked light pits, and the total number injured (however slightly), 538, including 255 in naked light pits. In the current year 35 persons have been killed as a result of eight explosions; I cannot at present give the figures of nonfatal accidents, but the number of persons injured is approximately 50. All these explosions resulted from ignitions of firedamp, but it must not he assumed, because of this, that the ventilation was inadequate. The imperative necessity for a high standard of ventilation is constantly being stressed, and close attention is given by the inspectors to the enforcement of the law. The matter is one that requires in all its details unremitting care and thought on the part of all concerned.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of mines inspectors in the employ of his Department, and the number of separate pit inspections made by them during the last year?

Ninety-nine inspectors of mines are employed by my Department: the total number of inspections they made in 1932 was approximately 25,000. These figures do not include quarries or quarry inspections.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to recent police prosecutions of drivers of motor cars with mirrors inside the cars, for driving at night with the rear blinds drawn down in order to protect themselves from the dazzling effect of the head-lights of following vehicles; and whether he will circularise all police forces that this circumstance should be taken into account before any further prosecutions are instituted?

My attention has not been called to any recent prosecutions. The Regulation requires that every motor vehicle (other than a motor cycle) shall be equipped with a reflecting mirror so constructed and fitted as to enable the driver to be or to become aware of the presence in its rear of any other vehicle whose driver desires to pass it. Whether that Regulation is complied with when the rear blinds are drawn is a question of interpretation which I have no authority to determine, but I feel sure that the consideration to which my hon. Friend refers will be in the minds of chief officers of police and will be taken into account when considering any question of proceedings.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has further investigated the possibility of simplifying and reducing air-mail fees in order to remove one of the obstacles to the expansion of air-mail?

It is still the case, as I pointed out in my reply to my hon. Friend on the same subject on 10th April last, that the charges to the public for the use of each air service or group of air services are fixed at the lowest possible point, and that there are no profits available which could be used to set off un-remunerative rates. The situation is also unchanged so far as the question of adopting an average charge is concerned.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that only 79 houses have been improved in Gloucestershire since the passing of the Rural Workers Housing Act, of which, approximately, half have been repaired under the supervision of the Stroud Rural District Council; and whether he will take immediate steps to bring to the notice of the other councils the advantages of this Act?

The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, I have taken steps to bring the advantages of this Act to the notice of all councils who are local authorities for the purposes of the Act. I shall be glad to discuss with my hon. Friend any suggestion for further action in the matter.

asked the Minister of Health if he will transmit schemes referred to in Article 7 of the Town and Country Planning (General Transitional) Order, 1933, and which he has not approved or disapproved, to local authorities at an early date, in order to enable them to carry out the necessary revision?

These schemes must be revised by the local authorities so as to bring them into conformity with the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1932. To assist local authorities in this and other matters new model clauses have been prepared in my Department. These clauses will be available shortly, and I shall then be able to return the schemes to the local authorities for revision.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the change in the dates of valuing approved societies, whether separate reports will be issued by the Actuary in future in respect of each group valued each year, or whether one report will be issued covering the whole of the societies when the last valuation for the quinquennial period has been completed?

It is not proposed to invite the Government Actuary to change his present practice of reporting on each valuation when it is completed. A full survey of the position cannot be made until the material provided by the whole of the valuations is available, and the publication of a bare summary of the valuation results of each section would probably give rise to erroneous impressions.

asked the Minister of Transport the number of units (to the nearest million) of electricity generated by authorised undertakings and railway and tramway authorities and non-statutory undertakings; the percentage increase or decrease on 1921 figures; the quantity of coal and coke used; and the percentage increase or decrease on 1921 figures for the years 1930, 1931, and 1932?

The following statement gives the information desired:

(1) Number of units (to the nearest million) of electricity generated
Year		Total Units generated.	Total Increases on 1921–22.
		Millions.	Per cent.
1922–22*	…	4,885	—
1930	…	12,333	152
1931	…	12,813	162
1932	…	13,656	179

(2) Quantities of Coal and Coke used.
Year		Total Amount.	Total Increase on 1921–22.
		Tons.	Per cent.
1921–22*	…	6,475,531	—
1930	…	9,965,249	54
1931	…	9,891,428	53
1932	…	10,138,012	56
* The figures relate so the year ended 31st March, 1922, which included a prolonged Coal Strike period in 1921.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the latest available figures of unemployment among juveniles in Birkenhead'?

At 23rd October, 1933, there were 507 unemployed boys and 373 unemployed girls, aged 14 to 18, on the registers of the Birkenhead Juvenile Employment Bureau.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the respective number of established and unestablished messengers and paperkeepers employed in the headquarter and ex-headquarter departments of the Civil Service on 1st September, 1933?

The following statement gives such information as I have.The numbers of adult messengers and paperkeepers serving on 1st April, 1933, which is the latest date for which information is available, were as follow;

	Established.	Unestablished.
Messengers	414	2,678
P a perkeepers and Record Keepers	156	476

I regret that the information available does not enable me to give the distribution of these figures between headquarters and ex-headquarters departments, respectively.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1) what are the numbers and percentage of the writing

Table showing Age Grouping of Established Copying Typists (including Clerk Typists), Established Shorthand Typists (including Clerk Shorthand Typists), and Writing Assistants on 1st April, 1932.*
Grade.	Number and percentage of officers serving on the 1st April, 1932, who were in the followinig age groups:—														Total Staff.
	16 to 17 years.		18 to 20 years.		21 to 25 years.		26 to 30 years.		31 to 40 years.		41 to 50 years.		Over 50 years.
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
Established Copying Typist- (including Clerk Typists).	—	—	312	12·3	1,118	43·9	690	27·1	360	14·1	49	1·9	17	0·7	2,546
Established Short hand Typists (including Clerk Shorthand Typists).	—	—	26	1·2	482	22·1	772	35·5	715	33·0	157	7·2	21	1·0	2,173
Writing Assistants	3112		49·1%		1,702	26·9	493	7·8	556	8·8	307	4·8	165	2·0	6,334
* Latest date for which information is available.

Following is the reply: