asked the President of the Board of Trade whether in view of the complaints which have recently been made to the Board of Trade of the treatment of officers of the mercantile marine by the examiners in the Port of London, especially by the conduct of one of them, he will state what are the respective ages of these examiners; how long is it since each of them, respectively, has been at sea; and what are the qualifications required of examiners and are they themselves periodically examined as to their knowledge of modern methods of navigation?

The ages of the Board of Trade surveyors who have been employed in London as examiners of deck officers during the past 12 months are 62, 49, 53, 41, 38 and 39. These officers were last at sea in 1907, 1913, 1919, 1925, 1929 and 1929 respectively. All the Board's examiners have passed the examination for extra master and, with the exception of three recruited under an old system, passed a competitive examination before appointment. They continue to study methods of navigation after entering the Board's service, and their work is periodically inspected by the Board's principal examiner.

asked the Minister of Health whether the medical officers of the Ministry report the form of small-pox recently notified at Blackburn to have been of the variola major or the variola, minor type?

I am advised that the recent outbreak of small-pox in Blackburn was an outbreak of variola major.

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of small-pox were wrongly diagnosed in connection with the recent outbreak at Blackburn; and whether it is proposed to take proceedings against the medical attendant or attendants concerned for failing to notify these cases as small-pox?

Four of the early cases were origially diagnosed as chicken-pox. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative. An error in diagnosis does not constitute an offence under the Infectious Disease (Notification) Acts.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the first case which led to the recent outbreak of small-pox at Blackburn was a man employed at a cotton mill where he handled cotton daily; and whether the evidence indicates that he contracted the disease in the performance of his duties?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. I have no satisfactory evidence on the second part.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to the imminent danger of the Dover Patrol Memorial on the cliffs at St. Margaret's Bay, Kent, being surrounded with buildings which would interfere with its visibility from the sea and land; and whether the Government can take any steps to protect this national memorial from such damage?

I am not aware of any such imminent danger, but in any case the Admiralty have no power to restrain the owner of the surrounding land from erecting buildings on his property. I understand, however, that the land on which the memorial stands was presented as a free gift by the owner, who further covenanted not to build or allow to be built anything whatever on the stretch of land between the memorial and the sea, so that there can be no possibility of buildings being erected on its sea side.

asked the Minister of Health what numbers of men are compulsorily retired from their employment by the various railway companies in Great Britain at 65 years of age on their receipt of old age pensions; and what arrangement exists between his Department and the Ministry of Labour as to future employment where the man concerned is able to work and his home responsibilities necessitate his so doing?

As regards the first part of the question, an old age pension at age 65 is payable whether or not the recipient continues at work after that age and I have, therefore, no information with regard to the number of railway employés compulsorily retired on receipt of their old age pensions. As regards the second part of the question, employés of railway companies are in this matter in no different position from that of other insured persons and, accordingly, the question of making a special arrangement of the kind suggested has not arisen.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of new houses erected in Perth Prison village since 1928; if any painting or redecorating has been done to the houses which were erected in 1927; and is he aware of the departmental order to the effect that warders' quarters will be painted and decorated every eight years at the expense of the State, and that this ruling forbids occupants to paint and redecorate their quarters during that time when considered necessary by them?

Eight new houses have been erected in Perth Prison village since 1928. The outside doors of the eight houses erected in 1927 have been repainted, and the interiors are to be redecorated this year. Prison instructions provide that the interior painting, papering and cleaning, etc., of officers' quarters may be done every eight years. Redecoration is done at the expense of the State, and officers are not permitted to carry out papering and painting on their own account as this was found in practice to be unsatisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that one family has been living in a single room at Perth Prison warders' quarters for over six weeks since the structural alterations commenced; that a wife and three children in another house have vacated their quarters for over four weeks as structural alterations were proceeding in every room; and is he satisfied that the utmost expedition has governed the work and that space adjacent to the buildings could not have been utilised more economically as sculleries instead of reducing the floor area of houses comprising three or four rooms, causing undue inconvenience and expense to the families concerned?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, the family in question consisting of an officer, his wife, and one child aged eight. As regards the second part, I am informed that structural alterations were not begun in every room until after the officer had voluntarily removed his wife and family. The scheme of alterations was only adopted after careful consideration of all the circumstances, and I am satisfied that there has been no avoidable delay in its execution. The progress of the work has been slower than was originally anticipated because of special circumstances outwith the control of the Prisons Department, but it is expected that the structural alterations will be completed this week and that the painting will be completed in a fortnight.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what are the numbers of children in elementary schools in Essex and also in England and Wales who receive during their attendance at school a tumbler of milk daily morning and/or afternoon; and what is the test of elimination whereby others in the same schools are not so supplied?

The numbers of school children in the geographical county of Essex and in England and Wales as a whole, who were provided with milk by local education authorities during the month of February last, were 1,363 and 184,493 respectively. In addition, it is estimated that about 21,000 school children in the geographical county of Essex, and 900,000 in England and Wales as a whole, receive milk daily under voluntary milk schemes administered by the National Milk Publicity Council. The selection of children to receive milk depends on a variety of factors such as, for example, the condition of the child, the willingness or unwillingness of the parents to pay where able to do so, or the willingness of the parent to allow the child to receive milk.