asked the President of the Board of Trade the present position of the use of Indian cotton in Lancashire; and if there is yet a definite prospect of the purchase by India of more textiles from Lancashire as the consumption of Indian cotton is increased?

Following the Ottawa Agreement, the Lancashire Indian Cotton Committee was set up to promote the greater use of Indian cotton in this country, and I am glad to say that during the last year there has been a considerable increase in the quantities of Indian cotton imported and delivered to spinners. According to statistics published by the Liverpool Cotton Association, the deliveries of East Indian cotton to spinners in Great Britain have amounted to over 229 thousand bales since the 1st August, 1933. The deliveries for the corresponding periods in 1932–33 and 1931–32 were 143 thousand and 154 thousand bales respectively. The total imports of East Indian cotton for the same periods, as published by the association, show an even greater increase, namely, nearly 292 thousand bales in 1933–34 as compared with 163 thousand bales in 1932–33 and 117 thousand bales in 1931–32. As regards the second part of the question, I have no doubt that, as the use of Indian cotton in Lancashire increases, there will be an improved market for Lancashire textiles in India.

Is there any prospect of a definite progressive agreement being made which will provide for an increase in the buying of textiles by India as the consumption of Indian cotton is increased?

I must ask for notice of a question with regard to an agreement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of the 18,470 tons of machinery, valued at £3,395,137, imported during the first four months of 1934 were imported duty free on the ground that similar machinery of British manufacture was not available?

No separate record is kept of the weight of machinery imported free of duty under Section 10 of the Finance Act, 1932. In terms of value, the machinery delivered for home consumption free of duty under licence during the months in question is estimated at something under one-fifth of the total imports of machinery, excluding from the latter the value of machinery entered duty free under Empire preference which was approximately £206,000.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that the imports of domestic and fancy glass were increased from 6,830 cwt. in April, 1932, to 33,189 cwt. in April, 1934; and, having regard to the fact that the duty on this glass was at the rate of 50 per cent. up to 26th April, 1932, on which date it was reduced to 20 per cent. and that one firm has already been compelled to close down, what steps he proposes to take to deal with the situation?

I am aware of the facts to which my hon. Friend draws attention. He has no doubt observed that an Order has just been made imposing increased duties upon these goods.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will consider excluding from the operation of the Additional Import Duties (No. 6) Order, 1934, the publications of learned and scientific societies?

The question of excluding the publications of learned and scientific societies from the operation of the Additional Import Duties (No. 6) Order, 1934, is one in the first instance for the consideration of the Import Duties Advisory Committee, to whom any representations should be made by the parties concerned.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is now in a position to make a statement on the subject of the negotiations for a trading agreement between this country and Holland?

It is hoped that the negotiations will be opened some time next month.

Can the right hon. Gentleman assure the House that in these negotiations the interests of horticulturists in this country, particularly the rose growers, will not be overlooked?

Yes, Sir.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the increased imports of tiles from 5,563 cwt. for the four months ended 30th April, 1932, to 94,862 cwt. for the corresponding period of 1934; and what percentage of this increase came from Empire countries?

I am aware of the increase to which my hon. Friend refers, which relates to imports of glazed wall and hearth tiles only. Imports of tiles from British countries are negligible in amount, and do not account for any part of the increase in question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to safeguard British labour against the increased imports of baths, Which increased by 1,732 tons for the four months ending 30th April, 1934, compared with the corresponding period for 1932; and are these increased imports increasing the favourable trade balance which the countries concerned have with Great Britain?

Any question of an increased duty on baths is a matter for the Import Duties Advisory Committee in the first instance. As regards the last part of the question, the great bulk of the imports of iron and steel baths are derived from Germany.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what instructions with regard to the nomenclature of wines have been given to the British delegates now attending the London Conference of the International Union for the Protection of Property; and is he aware of the principle recognised that such nomenclature is generally recognised as geographic rather than generic?

Instructions to delegates of His Majesty's Government at international conferences are necessarily confidential, and I am therefore not at liberty to disclose them. With regard to the last part of the question, I do not think that the principle referred to can be said to be generally recognised.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any communication has been received from the Japanese Government with regard to the policy adopted by His Majesty's Government following the breakdown in the negotiations with regard to Japanese cotton exports; and, if so, what has been the reply?

I saw the Japanese Ambassador on the 17th May and he raised certain points about the measures announced to be taken in the Colonial Empire. These questions are being considered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in his negotiations with the Japanese Government, he will bear in mind the claims of industries outside the textile trade which are being adversely affected by Japanese competition?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made on 7th May.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will publish a memorandum showing the extent to which the textiles of United Kingdom origin have been displaced by textiles from Japan in the markets of the British Crown Colonies?

The answer involves a long and complicated table which is being prepared. It will be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT when ready.

Will the right hon. Gentleman at the same time find out whether any English firms are actually engaged in selling goods manufactured in Japan to British Crown Colonies?

That does not arise.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it is proposed to grant any financial assistance to the shipping industry?

I am not yet in a position to add anything to the answers which have been given to previous questions on this subject. The consultations are proceeding.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman if the Cabinet is really considering the question of giving the shipping industry any support whatever with a view to giving employment to those who are unemployed?

Yes, Sir; the employment aspect of this question is constantly before us.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give any indication when the Government will be in a position to make a definite announcement?

It is very difficult to name a date when there are so many interests to be consulted. We are taking the best means at our disposal to thrash out these problems thoroughly.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the adverse balance of visible trade in the first four months of this year was £21,500,000 greater than in the same period last year; and, as the whole of our visible and invisible trade during the whole of last year showed an adverse balance, what steps he proposes to take to deal with this matter?

The excess of imports over exports of merchandise during the first four months of this year was £17,500,000 greater than in the corresponding period of 1933, due mainly to increased imports of materials for industry at, in many cases, enhanced prices. It is probable that with the increase in the balance of visible trade there has been an increase in invisible exports, and it would be unsafe to assume that the one increase more than counterbalanced the other.

Is it not the case that all the items showed a small adverse balance, and will there not be a large total adverse balance unless steps are taken?

I am not prepared to enter into the region of prophecy.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs if he can now state what action has been taken by any of the Dominions with regard to the imposition of quotas upon Japanese imports?

So far as I am aware, action has not been taken by any of the Dominions to impose quotas on Japanese imports.

asked the Prime Minister whether, having regard to the changed conditions and the additional information now available as a result of tariff experience, and with a view to saving the time and expense involved in individual trade applications to the Import Duties Advisory Committee, the Government will take action to secure the re- consideration by that committee of the Additional Import Duties (No. 1) Order, 1932?

I have been asked to reply. It is open to the committee at any time to reconsider all or any of the duties imposed on their recommendation. I have no power to interfere with them in the performance of their statutory functions, and it would be improper for me to attempt to do so.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if any representations have been made to the Import Duties Advisory Board concerning the large increase in the imports of bricks which, for the four months ending 30th April, 1934, was 34,014,000 in excess of the corresponding period for 1933; and what percentage was imported from Empire countries?

As regards the first part of the question, it is for the industry concerned to make such representations as it may think necessary direct to the Import Duties Advisory Committee. As regards the second part, during the four months in question the imports from Empire countries amounted to 016 per cent. of the total.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the number of countries with which bargaining over the imposition of Silk Duties has to be carried on; and when definite action in the direction of the imposition of such duties is to be expected?

The position of the Silk Duties in relation to trade negotiations now proceeding with France has been discussed with the representatives of the industry. So soon as these negotiations are brought to a satisfactory conclusion, it will, I hope, be possible to take immediate action in the matter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if a report has yet been issued from the Import Duties Advisory Committee as to the revision of the Silk Duties; and if he can make any statement on this matter?

In reply to the first part of the question I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer which was given to the hon. Member for Derby, South, on 22nd May, 1933, in which it was explained that it would not be in the public interest to answer questions of this nature. In reply to the second part, I am not yet in a position to make any statement on this matter.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will be able in the near future to announce when a decision with regard to the application for an increased duty on imported table glass-ware will be made?

An Order giving effect to the recommendations of the Import Duties Advisory Committee in regard to imported glass-ware was made by the Treasury last night and published in the Press this morning.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is aware of the fact that manila rope manufactured in Holland is allowed to be imported into Canada on terms far more favourable than rope made in England; and will he make inquiries with a view to at least equal treatment being meted out to British manufacturers?

I am informed that manila rope manufactured in the United Kingdom is not able to qualify for the British preferential rate in Canada, because more than 50 per cent. of its cost arises from raw material which is not grown within the Empire. As suggested by the hon. Member, I am making inquiries into the subject.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the negotiations which have been proceeding between himself and representatives of the herring fishing industry as to the possibility of assisting the industry in its present plight have been completed; and whether he can make a statement as to the result?

The modified proposals which the herring industry put forward last week are being actively considered, but I am not yet in a position to make a statement.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say when he will be able to make a definite statement, because, as he knows, the industry is very anxiously awaiting the result of these negotiations?

I realise the urgency of the matter, and immediately a statement can be made it will be made.

If I put down a question on Tuesday, will the right hon. Gentleman be able to answer then?

I cannot give an undertaking, but I will communicate with the hon. Gentleman.

Cannot anything be done in the way of propaganda like "Drink more milk" and "Eat more fruit," saying "Eat more herring"? It is one of the most nourishing of foods.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the position of the projected Bill for the prevention of damage by red deer; what is the cause of the long delay in issuing the Bill; and when the Bill will be presented to the House?

As regards the first two parts of the question, discussions are still taking place with a view to overcoming the difficulties of framing a practical and generally acceptable measure for dealing with the subject referred to. As regards the last part, I regret there is no possibility of proceeding with the Bill in the present Session.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the agricultural industry it is thought that the responsibility for blocking this Measure lies with the Scottish Office? Can be give some assurance on the point?

The responsibility undoubtedly rests with the Scottish Office, but our difficulty has been the difficulty that has existed before of drafting a suitable Bill to deal with the whole problem.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why no sheep farmer has been appointed to the advisory committee on agriculture; and whether, in view of the importance of sheep farming in Scotland, he will consider appointing one or more representatives of this branch of agriculture at the earliest moment?

Although no person was appointed to the Scottish Advisory Council on Agriculture as representing any particular interest, and while it will, of course, be possible for other experts to be invited to join the members at any meeting for consultation on particular subjects, the question of the representation of the pastoral sheep farming industry has been considered by the council and I have decided to add to the council by the appointment of a member with practical experience in pastoral farming.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education if, in view of the fact, to which attention has been called in the twentieth annual report of the Carnegie Trust, that Carnegie Hall suffers from the handicap that teachers proposing to take a year's course are faced with immediate expenditure and no increase in maximum salary, he will say whether any steps are being taken to remove this handicap?

My Noble Friend's attention has been drawn to the report to which the hon. Member refers. The position as regards the salary of teachers, who have attended the Carnegie Physical Training College is not a peculiar one; it is no different from that of any other teachers who have taken an extended period of training. The question of the alteration of the relevant provisions of the Burnham scales is, in the first instance, a matter for the Burnham Committees, to whom, it is understood, representations have already been made by the authorities of the college.

Can my hon. Friend tell me whether the committee are likely to take this matter into their consideration quickly?

I cannot say, and, in view of the fact that the matter will probably come before the Burnham Committee, I cannot express an opinion.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he is aware of the desire of local authorities generally that the age of obligation to attend school should be raised to 15 years by Statute; and if he will explain why recent applications of authorities for the raising of the school age within their respective areas by bylaw are being refused or deferred?

My Noble Friend is aware that a number of local education authorities are in favour of raising the school age to some higher age than 14. The grounds on which the Board have felt unable to approve certain recent proposals to raise the school age to 15 by by-law were, partly, that they were not satisfied as to the educational arrangements proposed and, partly, that they did not consider the areas in question sufficiently separated from the surrounding areas to prevent difficulties arising from the existence of different leaving ages for children residing inside and outside those areas. The applications which have been deferred were so deferred to enable the authorities concerned to consider various matters which required examination.

Are we to understand from the Government that they will receive sympathetically any proposals from local areas for passing by-laws to raise the school-leaving age?

The hon. Gentleman will have heard from my reply the kind of considerations which actuate the Board in giving their approval. Where these considerations are satisfied I have no reason to anticipate that the Board will necessarily raise objections.

Seeing that there is a strong feeling in favour of raising the school-leaving age, could not the Board consider raising it all over the country, and thus obviate any question of trouble between one district and another?

Why cannot any boy stay at school as long as he wants? Is there any reason for conscription to be applied to these boys? They are able to make up their own minds.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the number of auxiliary postmen on the 1st January, 1930, and what was the number on the same date this year; what would be the estimated cost of raising their maximum to the same as established men in their respective grades; and whether he proposes to do anything to remove their grievances?

The number of auxiliary postmen on the 1st January, 1930, was 12,207, and the number on the same date this year was 12,344. These men are paid at rates which were fixed by the Industrial Court in 1927; and if they were paid at the maximum hourly rates of the corresponding established full-time postmen the cost would amount to £186,000 a year. As I informed the hon. Member in reply to his question on the 16th April the problem of part-time labour is a very difficult one, but the matter is constantly under review with the object of improving the position. In this connection I may say that it is now the practice both in London and in the Provinces to give preference for employment as auxiliary postman to ex-service men in receipt of pensions, while provision is made for assigning to auxiliary postmen annually a certain number of full-time posts. During the past three years, nearly 1,300 auxiliary postmen have been appointed to full-time posts.

Does that apply to ex-service men from the Great War, or ex-service regulars?

To both in varying degrees. Preference is given to regular ex-service men, and after that to non-regulars.

Am I to understand that the whole of the regular ex-service men will have to be engaged before the Great War ex-service men are given consideration?

Not necessarily.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that G. H. Page, of the Eastern District office, has been dismissed after 20 years' service owing to his participation in football coupon betting, and that the authorities have declined to give the man a testimonial as to his general character and activities; and whether he will review the case and, as the man has to support a wife and five children, give him a further chance?

I am aware of the circumstances of this case. Mr. Page was dismissed for dishonest conduct and betting. I regret that it is not possible to offer Mr. Page further employment in the Post Office, or to furnish him with a clear certificate of character.

In view of the fact that the Government do not propose to include football coupon betting in their Betting Bill and to make it illegal, can the case be reconsidered?

Mr. Page was dismissed for dishonest conduct as well as betting. Every postal officer knows perfectly well that betting is prohibited.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the steps taken to secure the admission of the United States and Russia into the League of Nations; whether any action has been proposed to secure the re-entry of Germany and Japan into the League; and whether any of these countries have submitted proposals for the reform of the League of Nations?

The entry into the League of Nations of the United States and of the Soviet Union depends entirely on the decision and initiative of those two States and is subject only to the provisions of the Covenant. As regards the second part of the question, I would remind the hon. Member that neither Germany nor Japan has as yet actually withdrawn from the League of Nations; as far as Germany is concerned, the hon. Member will recollect that His Majesty's Government stated in their Memorandum on Disarmament of the 29th January last that her return to Geneva ought to be made an essential condition of agreement on a disarmament convention. The answer to the third part of the question is in the negative.

Is it not the case that initiative is permitted to States outside the League to make application to join the League, and is there not a responsibility upon those inside the League to give an intimation that such application would not be turned down?

If the hon. Member were aware of the differing circumstances which attend these movements on the part of nations, he would know that there is no possibility of applying one rule to them.

Would the Government be prepared to welcome the United States and the Soviet Union into the League of Nations?

I think that my right hon. Friend has assured the House of that time and time again.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the development of the practice of illtreating political prisoners in the prisons and detention camps of many countries, he will consider instructing the British delegation to the League of Nations to ask the League to lay down a code on this subject by which persons charged with political offences should be treated at least with the humanity prescribed for ordinary criminals and that the arrest or detention of such persons should be notified to the League, which shall appoint representatives in each country who shall be armed with a right to visit and obtain access to such persons?

The International Prison Commission, on which this country is represented, drafted Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which were in a revised form submitted to a committee of the Assembly of the League of Nations in October last year. These rules are designed to include

"all persons deprived of their liberty and put in prison for any reason whatever. The term 'prison' is used in the widest sense of the word."

It is further stated in the observations preceding the rules that

"if the premises used for the provisional detention of persons arrested by the police are not included in this term in certain countries, the fundamental ideas underlying the rules must nevertheless be followed as far as possible."

There is in these rules no specific reference to persons charged with political offences, but Rule 5 requires that

"other civil prisoners under order of the court in countries where such measures exist, should not be subjected to any greater restriction of liberty or severity than is required by the special nature of the detention, and to maintain order."

These rules have been circulated by the League of Nations to the States members of the League, asking for the comment and criticism of the respective Governments, and while this action is in process it would seem to be inadvisable to take such action as the hon. Member suggests.

Is the Prime Minister aware of the anomaly that is going to arise very shortly, inasmuch as the International Penitentiary Congress is to meet in Berlin, of all places?

Perhaps it is rather a good thing.

Has there been any response from the countries which are members of the League of Nations indicating their observance of these rules?

If my hon. Friend will be good enough to put that question down, I will supply an answer.

Has the Prime Minister's attention been called to the Oranienburg detention camp?