asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he can now state the amount of Estate Duty paid on agricultural land during the last financial year?

I regret that an estimate for last year is not yet available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of packs of foreign playing cards and their value on which duty was paid during the financial year ended 31st March, together with the amount of duty paid thereon?

During the year ending 31st March last Customs duty amounting to £1,900 was paid on approximately 121,000 packs of playing cards imported for home use. The duty is a specific duty at the rate of 3s. 9d. per dozen packs, and therefore no information as to value is available, nor can it be stated how far they were of foreign as opposed to Empire origin.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the sums and the proportion of national income represented thereby spent in respect of defence forces by each of the countries of Europe, by the United States of America, and by Japan?

Details of defence expenditure of these countries will be found in the Armaments Year Book published by the League of Nations. In most cases no reliable estimate of national income is available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the small ports at which officers are employed on Customs and Excise long-room duties, other than members of the clerical class; the grade of such officers at each port; the average amount of time spent per week on such duties at each port; and the allowances, if any, that are paid to such officers at each port?

I am sending the particulars requested direct to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the respective total number of S-class clerks female writing assistants and established shorthand-typists employed in his Department on 1st April, 1934?

The numbers employed in the Colonial Office are: "S" class clerks, six; female writing assistants, none; established shorthand typists, 20.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the respective total number of S-class clerks, female writing assistants and established shorthand-typists employed in his Department on 1st April, 1934?

The respective total numbers of S-class clerks, female writing assistants and established shorthand typists employed in my Department (including the Royal Botanic Gardens and the Ordnance Survey) on 1st April, 1934, were 25, 51 and 75.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish the results of any recent comparative tests on the weaving of cotton cloth by automatic, semi-automatic and Lancashire type-weaving machinery?

I understand that large-scale comparative tests of the kind referred to by my hon. Friend have been undertaken in Lancashire and that a report on the matter was published in 1932 by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation. I am not aware of any more recent tests on a comparable scale, although I observe that certain data have been, and are being, published from time to time in the Press and technical journals.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many persons have been proceeded against in each of the last 10 years for fraudulent practices in connection with the flotation or conduct of limited liability companies; and how many of those proceeded against have been convicted?

I have been asked to reply. I regret that records are not kept in a form which would enable me to give the information asked for by the hon. Gentleman.

asked the Postmaster-General what the loss of revenue would be were penny postage to be introduced in respect of letters weighing one ounce and less; and whether, having regard to the great burden imposed upon industrial undertakings resulting from the present high postage charges, he will consider the desirability of reducing the postage charges of letters weighing one ounce and less to one penny?

The estimated cost of introducing penny postage for letters weighing one ounce or less is between £6,500,000 and £6,750,000. I am afraid I cannot hold out any hope of the early introduction of penny postage.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many boys and men, respectively, were accepted in the year 1933 for His Majesty's Navy and Royal Marines, respectively; how many were rejected on account of some physical deficiency; and what was the corresponding percentages of rejections to acceptances in the years 1929, 1930, 1931, and 1932, respectively?

The following is a statement showing the number of boys and men entered in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines during the year 1st April, 1933, to 31st March, 1934:

			Royal Navy.	Royal Marines.
Boys	…	…	2,607	132
Men	…	…	3,219	402

Of 11,645 medically examined, 4,524 were rejected on account of some physical deficiency. The corresponding percentages of rejections to acceptances during the years in question were:

1929–30	…	…	40.65
1930–31	…	…	40.33
1931–32	…	…	43.33
1932–33	…	…	41.00

asked the Home Secretary how many local police authorities have appointed women police; what is the total number of police women so appointed; and how many local police authorities there are which have not yet done so?

In England and Wales there are 154 police women appointed by 41 police authorities; 142 police authorities have made no appointment.