asked the President of the Board of Trade whether there are any treaties or understandings affecting the commercial relations between Great Britain and Japan other than the treaty of commerce and navigation, as modified by the supplementary convention of 1927 and the notes exchanged between the United Kingdom and Japan in London in 1924; and, if so, will he give details?

With the exception of an Agreement made in 1912 for the reciprocal waiver of consular fees, the only other agreements affecting the commercial relations between the two countries are certain multilateral conventions to which both countries are parties. These are all technical in character (for example, the Industrial Property Convention) except the St. Germain Convention of 1919 which ensures to Japan equality of treatment in the Congo Basin area. Similar equality of treatment is also enjoyed by Japan in the various British mandated territories.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) to what Dominions, Colonies, possessions or protectorates are the terms of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain and Japan applicable; and will he give the date on which notice of accession was given in respect of each affected Dominion, Colony, possession, or protectorate;(2) to what mandated or leased territories of Great Britain or Japan is the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain and Japan applicable; and will he give details?

Following is the reply:(1) The Anglo-Japanese Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of 1911 and the Supplementary Convention of 1925 apply to the following British Dominions, Colonies, Protectorates and Territories under British Man-date—

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give particulars of the export of arms for the months of June, July, August, September and October to China, Japan, Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia and Peru?

The following table shows the quantities and declared value of the exports of arms (ordnance and small arms) and parts thereof, manufactured in the United Kingdom, to the undermentioned countries as registered in each of the months June, July, August, September and October, 1933:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres, which are performing work of educational value, made a loss on the last year of operation of over £7,000, which was approximately equivalent to the amount paid by them in Entertainments Duty; and whether he will take these facts into account in drawing up plans for his next Budget?

I note the information given by my hon. Friend that the theatres mentioned made a loss of £7,000 during their last year of operation, and I am aware that this is approximately equivalent to the amount of Entertainments Duty paid in respect of admissions to these theatres during the same period. I can assure my hon. Friend that in framing the coming Budget all relevant considerations, including the one to which he refers, will be taken into account.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the profits of the Old Vic and Sadler's Well theatres for the past year were entirely absorbed by the amount paid in Entertainments Duty; and whether, in view of the handicap which is caused to such institutions by this duty and of the educational advantages which they provide, he will consider amending the law in so far as it applies to stage performances in his forthcoming Budget?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave this afternoon to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr. Hutchison).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has any information to show how many foreign artists have left this country during the present year without paying the British Income Tax to which they are liable; and in how many cases the amount of their tax has been recovered from them subsequently?

I regret that the information asked for by my hon. Friend is not available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what other grades in the Civil Service are remunerated on the same basis as that for unestablished and temporary messengers, and whose general conditions of employment may be analogous to those grades; also the number of men employed in each such grade?

The number of employés on common service scales agreed for unestablished messengers is about 3,200. This figure includes a certain number of men with special Departmental designations, but I regret that separate figures in regard to each of these designations are not available, and could not be obtained without a disproportionate amount of labour.

asked the Postmaster-General whether be is aware that the claim for compensation made against the Post Office under Reference No. 55,267/33 by the Electricity Installation and Equipment Company, Tindall Street, Chelmsford, has been refused; whether he is aware that in this case compensation was claimed because a Post Office servant acted, as his office acknowledges, without proper authority, with resulting loss and inconvenience to the business of the firm; and whether, under these special circumstances, he will reconsider this claim?

As was explained to my hon. and gallant Friend in the letter sent to him on 5th October, compensation is in no circumstances paid for injury or damage consequential upon the nondelivery or mis-delivery of anything sent by post; and I am sorry that I cannot make any exception in the present case.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the wholesale and retail price of British-grown onions for each month during the last five years?

The following statement gives the information desired with regard to wholesale prices. I have no information with regard to retail prices of onions.