asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give any information as to the terms of the treaty settlement concluded recently with the Imam of the Yemen?

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he can make any statement as to the nature of the agreement which has resulted from the recent British mission to Sanaa?

Yes, Sir. Lengthy negotiations have resulted in the signature at Sanaa, the capital of the Yemen, on 11th February, by Lieut.-Colonel Reilly, the resident at Aden, and representatives of the Imam of the Yemen, of a treaty of friendship between the United Kingdom and India on the one hand and the Yemen on the other. Lieut.-Colonel Reilly has reported that, before the treaty was signed, the conditions attached by His Majesty's Government in the United Kindom to their consent to the conclusion of the treaty had been fulfilled. These comprised the evacuation of those portions of the territory of the Aden Protectorate which were still in Yemeni occupation; the release by the Imam of certain subjects of the chiefs of the Aden Protectorate; and the raising of restrictions which had been placed by the Imam on overland trade between the Protectorate and the Yemen.The full text of the treaty as signed has not been received; but its main object is to settle the question of the frontier between the Aden Protectorate and the Yemen: and this has been done by a mutual undertaking providing for the maintenance of the situation in regard to the frontier as it existed on the date of signature, and for the prevention of any violation of this frontier pending negotiations for its final settlement, which are to be initiated before the expiration of the present treaty. The treaty is to remain in force for 40 years. It will be laid before Parliament before ratification. His Majesty's Government regard this settlement as most satisfactory, and consider that it reflects great credit on Lieut.-Colonel Reilly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order to provide the revenue now lost to the Exchequer by the progressive absorption by the co-operative societies of retail trade and industrial production which is or has been carried on by limited companies or private individuals, he will consider the amendment of Section 31, Sub-section (3), of the Finance Act, 1933, under which the dividends paid by co-operative societies to their members are deducted as expenses in computing their income on which tax is payable at the source?

My right hon. Friend is not prepared to adopt my hon. Friend's suggestion. Sub-section (3) of Section 31 of the Finance Act, 1933, is of a declaratory character, and merely provides that dividends on purchases, etc., granted by co-operative societies, shall be treated for Income Tax purposes on the same principles as apply under the general Income Tax law as regards discounts or rebates granted by other traders.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, in view of the improved national financial position, he will agree to reconsider the question of starting pay of ex-service men appointed to the clerical classes of the Civil Service since 1921?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which I gave him on 12th February, to which there is nothing to add.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department if he can make any further statement as to the proportion of space which has now been booked in the British Pavilion at the forthcoming Levant Fair at Tel-Aviv; and whether any steps are being taken to bring to the notice of those visiting the present British Industries Fair the existence of this opportunity to increase British trade in the Near East?

Detailed information as to bookings in the British Pavilion, for which the Federation of British Industries is responsible, is still awaited from Tel-Aviv. I am informed, however, that at least 90 per cent. of the space in the pavilion has been definitely rented, and it is estimated that more than 150 United Kingdom firms will be represented. As regards the second part of the question, I am informed that the Federation of British Industries, which has an information bureau at Olympia, is taking all possible steps by postal canvassing and otherwise to make firms acquainted with the opportunity offered by the Tel-Aviv Fair, and that many firms are taking the opportunity provided by the British Industries Fair to interview representatives of the federation on the question of participation at Tel-Aviv.

asked the Home Secretary the number of criminal lunatics at Broadmoor who were originally imprisoned for the terms of their natural lives; and how many prisoners in Broadmoor have been detained there over 20 years?

There are 27 persons at Broadmoor who were certified insane and removed there while serving a sentence of penal servitude for life. The total number of patients at Broadmoor who have been detained there for over 20 years is 204.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what, if the Tithe Acts, 1918 and 1925, had not been passed, would have been the value in 1932 and 1933, respectively, of £100 apportioned tithe rentcharge calculated at the septennial average corn prices in accordance with the earlier Acts?

As my hon. and gallant Friend is doubtless aware, the effect of the Tithe Acts, 1918 and 1925, was to stabilise the value of £100 tithe rentcharge (par value) at £109 3s. 11d. as from 1919 to 1926 and at £105 from 1927 onwards. If these Acts had not been passed, the value of £100 tithe rentcharge, calculated on the septennial corn averages would have been as follows:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what opportunities of further employment will be offered to the technical employés of the casts department of the Victoria and Albert Museum who have not been transferred to the same department at the British Museum or to posts of a similar nature?

My Noble Friend is glad to be able to inform the hon. Member that suitable positions have been found, either in the board's service or at the British Museum, for all members of the craftsmen staff of the department for the supply of casts at the Victoria and Albert Museum, who have been rendered redundant by the reorganisation of the supply of casts.

asked the First Commissioner of Works if, in view of the proposals for the erection of new buildings in Dean's Yard, on the south side, he is prepared to take steps to ensure that in digging the foundations the stability of Westminster Abbey and other adjoining property of a religious or antiquarian character is not thereby affected?

The responsibility for the stability of Westminster Abbey is a matter for the Dean and Chapter. The Chapter House and the Chapel of the Pyx, for which my Department is responsible, are, in the opinion of my advisers, too far removed from the proposed building to be affected by the proposed reconstruction on the south side of Dean's Yard.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that there is a variation in practice in various Admiralty establishments in regard to the counting of incremental service in the case of hired industrial employés serving in acting capacities in higher grades, who are subsequently confirmed in their appointments within a year from the date of their acting appointments; and whether he will take steps to ensure that incremental credit on the basis of the acting appointment shall be allowed in all such cases as from the date of the acting appointment?

There are at present some differences in practice at the several dockyards, etc., in the manner of giving credit for acting service in a higher grade to certain hired industrial employés when they are subsequently confirmed in the higher situation, and the matter is now under review. It is not possible to give in advance of this inquiry the undertaking asked for in the last part of the question, but I shall be glad to let my hon. Friend know when a decision has been reached.