asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what representations had been received by the Air Ministry as to danger to aircraft from the height and position of the radio beacon at Croydon airport before the recent accident caused by an aircraft colliding with it; by whom and on what date such representations took place; what action, if any, was taken as a result; and if any further action is now contemplated as a result of the accident?

My hon. and gallant Friend was good enough to postpone his question at my request, and I have in the meantime had occasion to reply to a similar question on the same subject on Monday. My reply was, briefly, to the effect that following on representations made in October last the whole matter was very fully discussed with all concerned, and certain technical investigations put in hand. I may add that the orders have now been issued for the immediate reduction of the height of the beacon to a maximum of 35 feet. Work has been begun to-day.

May I take it that even if this accident had not happened, the present action would have been taken by the right hon. Gentleman's Department?

Certainly, we had decided it would be taken.

May I ask whether there have been any similar representations about Air Ministry aerodromes which have not yet been dealt with?

I must have notice of that question.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he is now in a position to make a statement regarding steps to be taken to reduce danger to aircraft from overhead electric pylons and cables as the result of joint consideration by the Air Ministry and Electricity Commissioners?

There is nothing that I can usefully add as yet to my reply of 18th April last and to my letter referred to therein, in which I explained the complexities of the problem. But the investigations and lighting experiments are proceeding.

In view of the continuance of this danger, if I put this question down again in one month's time—postponing it again as I have done at the request of the right hon. Gentleman this time—will he then be able to give me a specific answer?

I shall be able to give my hon. and gallant Friend all the information in my possession.

Will the right hon. Gentleman take all steps to speed up action before an accident occurs?

We are doing all that we can.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he will consider inaugurating night-flying postal services in order that our inter-imperial communications may be speeded up?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply which I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Duddeston (Mr. Simmonds) on 16th May last, and to which I have nothing to add. As I then stated, the matter is primarily one for the operating companies.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the amount of night flying carried on by other countries, particularly by Germany; and does he not think it important that we should retain our position in that as in all other respects relating to the air?

We are watching all the circumstances.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that, while he says this is the responsibility of the Post Office, the Postmaster-General says that it is the right hon. Gentleman's responsibility; and can the right hon. Gentleman give us any idea of when this little family dispute will be settled?

I said it was a matter for the operating companies.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if his attention has been drawn to the large number of Britishers travelling to and from the East by the K. L. M. line instead of by Imperial Airways; whether this is due to a better and faster service provided by the K. L. M. Company or to insufficient accommodation provided by Imperial Airways; and if he will take steps to see that our imperial air-lines are so developed in speed and service as to attract the bulk of the travelling public?

I have no information to confirm the suggestion contained in the first part of my hon. and gallant Friend's question, and I would not in any case subscribe to the possibilities suggested in the second part.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air, in view of the present practicability of attacking aeroplanes being met by clouds of poison gas, what steps he is taking to provide anti-gas protection and training for Royal Air Force personnel likely to be engaged in attacks in the event of hostilities?

It would not be in the public interest to deal with questions of this kind across the Floor of the House.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) the total number of hump-backed bridges there are on main roads in this country; before how many there are warning signs; and whether any systematic reduction of these bridges is being made; and

(2) how many hump-backed bridges there are on Watling Street?

I am not in possession of the information the hon. Member desires and much time and labour would be entailed in obtaining it, but I have authorised a special warning sign for hump-backed bridges and it is extensively used. Highway authorities are reconstructing bridges of this type or improving their approaches, as opportunity offers and their resources permit, and I am prepared to give consideration to all applications for grants for this purpose which may be submitted to me.

Can the Minister hurry on the scheme for the elimination of these bridges?

I have just said that I am prepared to consider all applications.

Are not these bridges a useful check to speed?

So it would be if there were no bridges at all.

Is the Minister prepared to reconsider the position regarding the Forth Bridge?

My answer was that I was prepared to give consideration to all applications for grants for this purpose—that is the reconstruction of humpbacked bridges.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the unnecessary duplication of motor-omnibus services which exists on the Aberdeen-Deeside and Aberdeen-Donside routes; and whether, in view of the fact that the local omnibuses can deal adequately with the traffic, he will take steps to secure the withdrawal of Alexander's omnibuses from the services to Upper Deeside and Upper Donside?

The licensing of road passenger services is a matter for the Traffic Commissioners set up under the Road Traffic Act, 1930, and I have no power to intervene except on an appeal by a person so entitled under Section 81 of that Act.

Is any record kept of the number of people using these omnibuses?

asked the Minister of Transport what progress has been made during the past year with the testing of road surfaces in order to ascer- tain the best type for the prevention of skidding; and by what date he anticipates research will have been sufficiently advanced to enable him to oblige all highway authorities to use such surfaces on Class I roads?

Continuous study has been given during the past year to the behaviour of a number of trial lengths laid to different specifications in order to determine, among other things, their non-skid properties, and an account of this work will shortly be published. I cannot forecast the progress of research, but my Department consistently presses on highway authorities the importance of using only such materials as are likely to give non-slippery surfaces, and marked progress has been made in this direction.

Has the Minister received any report from the local authorities about the diamond-cut iron plates put down on the roads?

If the hon. Member will put a question down, I will give him any information that I can.

asked the Minister of Transport the cost to the Ministry of Transport and to the railway companies, respectively, of compiling the statistics relating to railway traffics which usually appear four months after the period to which they relate; how many copies of these statistics are sold; and what purpose they serve?

I assume that my hon. Friend refers to the publication entitled "Railway Statistics." This document is issued monthly, usually about 10 weeks after the period to which it relates. I have no information as to the cost incurred by the railway companies, but I have no doubt that the bulk of the information contained in the returns would, in any event, be compiled by the companies for their own purposes. The cost incurred by my Department in the compilation of these statistics is estimated to be approximately £1,200 a year. This figure does not include printing. The average number of copies sold monthly is 250. The statistics in question are compiled by the railway companies and rendered to me in compliance with Section 77 of the Railways Act, 1921. The returns are reviewed and have been modified from time to time by agreement with the railway companies with the object of securing economy, and I am satisfied that their continued publication serves a useful purpose from the point of view of the railway companies themselves and of the various bodies who are concerned with railway traffics and charges and with the economic and efficient management of the railways.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to bring to the notice of taximeter cab users the desirability of taking taximeter cabs off the ranks rather than engaging crawling taximeter cabs, since such a preference would tend to reduce the congestion in the streets caused by numbers of these vehicles cruising about in the hope of picking up passengers?

I have no doubt that the public could materially assist the general circulation of traffic by making a practice of hiring their cabs from the ranks whenever possible. Attention was called to this matter in the report of the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for last year, and I hope that this question and answer will give further publicity to the subject.

Are not taximeter cabs crawling about the streets a great convenience to the public?

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware of the dissatisfaction among electricity consumers in the Clyde area at the higher charges of the Clyde Valley Electrical Power Company in comparison with the charges of the Glasgow municipal electricity services; will he order a public inquiry with a view to having the company's charges reduced to the same level as the municipal service; and, further, in view of the Glasgow housing committee's official Report, showing that householders supplied by the company have to pay 27s. to almost £3 per annum more than householders on the municipal service for the same supply, will he consider takings steps to bring the whole of the electricity supply in the area under municipal control?

I have recently received a petition from certain residents in Springboig stating that the charges made by the Clyde Valley Electrical Power Company in that district are greater than those obtaining in the area of supply of the Glasgow Corporation, and asking that the former charges should be arranged on a more equitable basis. The petition is receiving consideration.

May I have a reply to the last part of the question, and will the Minister consider taking steps to bring the whole of the electricity supply in the area under municipal control?

I only received this petition on 8th June, and I am certainly not in a position to give a definite reply as to what action I propose to take on it.

If I put a question down for a later date, will the hon. Gentleman be in a position to give a reply on this matter, because 5,000 or 6,000 people are very anxious to come under municipal control in Glasgow?

Without attempting to give a reply to the hon. Gentleman's question at this moment, I can assure him that there will be no unavoidable delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if his attention has been directed to a deliverance approved by the Church of Scotland in General Assembly calling upon His Majesty's Government to institute an inquiry into the whole question of Sunday trading; and if he will agree to setting up such an inquiry?

I have not received any communication from the Church of Scotland on the matter referred to, but I have seen a Press report to the effect that the General Assembly agreed that overtures from certain presbyteries on the subject of Sunday observance generally should be received and sent to the Church and Nation Committee for consideration and report. As stated in the reply which I gave to a question by the hon. Member for East Edinburgh (Mr. D. Mason) on 20th March last, I am not satisfied that an inquiry of the nature suggested would be justified at the present time.

Is the Minister not aware that a motion proposed in the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in favour of an inquiry was carried unanimously?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the question of Sunday observance was submitted to the Church and Nation Committee for consideration, and no doubt there will be a report to the Assembly.

Is there not a long series of Statutes regarding Sunday observance which ought to be in the report?

Can the Minister inform the House what his idea is of satisfaction, and can he give us some guidance as to how he will be satisfied?

This is not the time for giving guidance.

asked (1) the Secretary of State for Scotland what contract was signed by the Glasgow milk retailers who have been refused supplies by the Milk Board because they sold standard milk to working-class consumers at cheap rates; and, if no contracts were signed by these retailers, why are they prohibited from selling milk at the lowest possible price to consumers; and

(2) the Lord Advocate if he is aware that seven milk retailers in Glasgow have been refused supplies by the Milk Marketing Board because they were selling at reduced prices; and will he state under what Act of Parliament the Scottish Milk Marketing Board is entitled to refuse supplies to these retailers and threaten them with economic boycott unless they agree to increase their prices?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to his question on 6th June. Under the contract entered into between distributors and the Scottish Milk Marketing Board it is provided that all buyers of milk from or through the agency of the board shall undertake to observe the prices fixed by the board and to take sub-purchasers bound in a similar obligation. The retailers referred to are sub-purchasers in terms of the contract.

What Act of Parliament enables them to stop the supply of milk to those retailers who are supplying milk cheap to the poor people of Glasgow?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, these boards are set up by the Agricultural Marketing Act, 1931, and the terms of the contract entered into between the board and the distributors are well within the four corners of that Act.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has received a report from his inspectors relative to the inconvenience caused to the hospitals in the Blackheath area when the electric light supply failed for a number of hours on Sunday night; if he is aware that the hospitals had no electric light supply for three hours; and if he can state the cause of the breakdown?

I am informed that the breakdown was due to a fault on an old distributor which had been in service for many years, that the principal inconvenience was suffered by the Herbert Hospital, and that the hospital has now been connected to a new ring main which the company were laying to provide additional security of supply and which was on the point of completion when the breakdown occurred.

Does the Minister not see the advantage of having gas installed in these institutions as well as electric light?

Had the hon. Member for Plaistow (Mr. Thorne) the same solicitude for the hospitals in 1926?

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the proposed revision of boundaries within the county of Norfolk, if put into effect, will result in the extinction of the rural district council of Aylsham, and that in this event representatives will have difficulty in performing their administrative duties by attending meeting in new places; and will he discuss the matter further with the authority concerned?

The County Council of Norfolk, after reviewing the county districts, put forward to my right hon. Friend proposals which included the abolition of the Aylsham rural district and the division of the area between the adjoining rural districts. It was part of their scheme for reducing the number of rural districts in the county. A public inquiry into the county council's proposals was held by one of the inspectors of my Department, and the proposal affecting the Aylsham rural district was fully investigated. After considering the inspector's report and the representations that were made, my right hon. Friend decided to approve the county council's proposal. The decision was issued on the 31st ultimo. He can assure my hon. Friend that all the circumstances were fully considered.

asked the Minister of Health the number of local authorities in England and Wales who have adopted the provisions of the Superannuation Act, 1922, in respect of both trading and non-trading departments; and the number of persons now receiving superannuation under this voluntary scheme?

The Superannuation Act of 1922 does not make any distinction between trading and non-trading departments, and the particulars submitted to my right hon. Friend are not required to be so distinguished. He is not able, therefore, to furnish the information.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he will cause inquiry to be made into the circumstances under which the steam launch "Manoung," on the ferry service between the Risalpur River and Saugor Island, sank in a squall recently; and, in particular, as to whether there were on board more passengers than this launch was licensed to carry?

Yes, Sir, I will ask the Government of India for a report.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he can give any information on the outbreak of malaria in Bechuanaland; whether he is aware that at Ghanzi there have been 250 deaths following a period of starvation; and what measures His Majesty's Government is taking?

I regret to say that there has been an outbreak of malaria in certain districts of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. I have not yet received any detailed reports from the High Commissioner for South Africa as to mortality, but I have no doubt that these will be forthcoming as soon as the information is available. Prompt measures have been taken by the local administration to deal with the outbreak by sending medical officers and the necessary supplies of quinine to districts affected. I may add that provision was made last year, and has again been made this year, for the relief of distress unfortunately occasioned in the Protectorate by the late disastrous drought in South Africa.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the number of postal robberies during 1933 and the first five months of 1934, respectively; how many of these were carried out during the transit of mail by railway trains or at railway stations; what are the total losses involved; and whether any new steps are contemplated to cope with mail robberies in mail vans on trains?

During the year 1933, mail bags were stolen or tampered with in course of transit on 49 occasions. On 48 of these occasions the loss is believed to have occurred on the railway. The corresponding figures for the first five months of this year are 22 and 20 respectively. It is not possible to state the total loss involved, as there is no record of the value of the contents of letters carried; but in the great majority of cases the loss seems to have been trifling. Very close attention is being given to measures for the prevention of such losses; and the recent convictions of mail bag thieves will doubtless act as a useful deterrent.

Will the hon. Gentleman consider the advisability of keeping these postal packages in mail vans separate from other luggage, because thieves seem to get into large orates in the vans, and then let themselves out and steal mail bags?

That matter is under consideration.

Would the use of the air service prevent these robberies?

asked the Attorney-General whether his attention has been called to a book entitled "Holy Deadlock" wherein His Majesty's judges and courts, and the legal code which they administer in matrimonial causes, are held up to public ridicule and contempt; and whether it is proposed to take any action in the matter?

The book in question is a work of fiction, and is not such as to require any action on my part.

Is not the state of affairs disclosed in that book pretty much what is happening in the courts just now? Is not that notorious?

No, Sir.

Is it not the case that our matrimonial code is based on a pre-Reformation standard of a celibate clergy? Why do the English not have the Scottish matrimonial law, which is much more sensible?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is yet in a position to state the terms of reference and the composition of the proposed Royal Commission on tithes; whether the special circumstances of Welsh tithe payers will he a subject of inquiry; and whether Wales will be directly represented on the personnel of the commission?

The terms of reference of the Royal Commission will be:

"To inquire into and report upon the whole question of tithe rentcharge in England and Wales and its incidence, with special reference to stabilised value, statutory remission, powers of recovery, and method and terms of redemption."

I am not yet in a position to make a statement with regard to the constitution and personnel of the commission. With regard to the last part of the question, I do not think it would be desirable to have direct representation of interests on the commission, but the hon. Member's suggestion will be borne in mind.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a tendency now to ignore altogether the national claims of the Principality?

I will keep the hon. Gentleman's representations in mind.

Will my right hon. Friend do everything he can to speed up this inquiry?

Naturally, the Royal Commission must be the judges of that. I am afraid it will take a certain amount of time.

asked the Minister of Pensions if he is aware that margarine is issued normally to all patients in the Ministry of Pensions hospitals; and if, having regard to the surplus milk in the country, he will issue instructions for butter to be used in place of margarine?

Butter is always supplied to patients in Ministry hospitals if medically recommended, but otherwise the practice in Ministry hospitals has in the past followed that of the majority of similar institutions. But I am going into this matter with a view to making a change.

Is the Minister aware that certain qualities of margarine have the same qualities as cod liver oil, and are much better for patients than ordinary butter?

asked the Home Secretary if he can supply a list of licensing districts which have granted extensions to 10.30 p.m., showing those granted for the whole year and those granted for a lesser period, to wit, summer time, respectively?

According to the latest available information, the list asked for would include the names of nearly 200 individual districts. I shall be glad to send the hon. and learned Member the detailed particulars if he so desires.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for his offer, may I ask him if he is aware that many members of the public would find it convenient to be informed where these facilities are available?

Can the Home Secretary say if the increase in these facilities has led to an increase in the figures of drunkenness?

Not without notice.

asked the Home Secretary the number of men and women injured at meetings organised by the Fascists or at disturbances arising there-from in 1932, 1933, and to the nearest convenient date in 1934?

I am only in a position to give particulars in respect of the Metropolitan Police District. The Commissioner of Police informs me that, so far as the police are aware, no person was injured at Fascist meetings during 1932. During 1933, 10 persons (nine males and one female) and, during 1934, up to the 11th instant about 45 men and three women are known to the police to have received injuries at Fascist meetings.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has received a report from the Commissioner of Police in connection with Fascist meetings held on Saturday night, 9th June, and Sunday night, 10th June, at Hackney, Finsbury Park, Regent's Park, Woolwich, Notting Dale, Tottenham, and Wood Green; how many people were injured and how many people were locked up; and whether he intends taking further action in the matter?

Yes, Sir; I have obtained reports from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis regarding the meetings referred to. There were minor disturbances at some of these meetings. The total number of persons known to the police to have been injured is five, and eight arrests were made. No further action in regard to these meetings is called for, but I hope to say something further on the subject generally in the course of the Debate to-morrow.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether, in that report, the inspector reported the fact that a casualty van was in Finsbury Park and operations were being directed from the top of the van by one of the Fascist officers?

Was it not for the purpose of carrying away mad Socialists?

asked the Home Secretary what information is in the hands of the police as to weapons of any sort being used in the recent disturbances at a Fascist meeting at Olympia; and whether they were used wholly or in the main by the disturbers or the holders of the meeting?

Three of the persons arrested by the police were found on being searched to be in possession of offensive weapons, namely, a wooden truncheon, a pair of cutting pliers and an iron bolt. The police cannot say whether these weapons were used during the disturbance.

Is it not possible to make sure whether any Blackshirt was possessed of these weapons, or whether they were in the possession of people with no shirts or with shirts of no distinctive colour?

It is not always easy to know which is which.

Is the Home Secretary aware that these disturbances only occur when followers of the party opposite attend these meetings with the avowed intention of breaking them up?

asked the Home Secretary, seeing that the trouble at the recent Fascist meeting at Olympia was due to organised determination to break up a lawful assembly and was caused by those in opposition to the right of free speech, and that no Government meeting can now be peacefully carried on in any Socialist centre of activity, the Government will now take steps for the maintenance of free speech?

I understand that it is the general desire that this question should be debated to-morrow, and I think it will be better to reserve any statement until then.

Can the Home Secretary say what steps, if any, are being taken to ensure the right of free speech at the meeting to be addressed by the Prime Minister at Seaham to-morrow?

asked the Home Secretary if he has any information to show whether the so-called Blackshirts have unduly interfered with, or attempted to break up, any meetings by declared intention, by deliberate organisation, or otherwise; and, if so, where?

It has not been possible in the time available to obtain information as regards any such incidents in respect of the country generally. So far as London is concerned I have received a report from the Commissioner of Police of one occasion on the 24th May last in which it appeared that a party of Fascists attempted to break up a meeting held at Kilburn under the auspices of the British Anti-War Movement. There was also another incident on the 24th November, 1933, when the British Union of Fascists broke up a meeting of the Imperial Fascists at Trinity Hall, Portland Place.

asked the Home Secretary if he can furnish a statement showing how many persons have been admitted to hospitals in the London area in connection with Blackshirt meetings during the present month; and whether any of them were suffering from injuries alleged to have been received at the hands of Black-shirts; and, if so, how many?

The Commissioner of Police informs me that the only information which he has of persons admitted to hospital suffering from in-, juries in connection with Fascist meetings during June are those arising out of the recent meeting at Olympia. In addition to the 10 persons treated at hospitals in the vicinity of Olympia, the Commissioner is informed that two women received treatment at St. George's Hospital. It is not known by whom these injuries were inflicted.

asked the Home Secretary if he can furnish a statement showing how many persons have been charged by the police in connection with disturbances relating to Blackshirt meetings in London during the present month, together with their names and their countries of origin, the nature of the offence, and the punishment, if any, awarded; and whether any of them were Blackshirts, and, if so, how many?

The number of persons charged is 36, of whom five are known to be Fascists. They are all British subjects. I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement containing the other particulars asked for.

asked the Home Secretary if he will introduce legislation to extend the Firearms Acts to the carrying or being in possession of knuckledusters, loaded sticks, mounted razor-blades, or similar lethal weapons?

I would refer to the reply which I gave to a somewhat similar question by the hon. and gallant Member for the Handsworth Division (Commander O. Locker-Lampson) on 26th February last.

Has the right hon. Gentleman's attention been drawn to the different treatment meted out to Fascists who have been pinched and others who have been pinched?

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply has been received from the Norwegian Government to the representations made by His Majesty's Government regarding the molestation of British shipping off the coast of Norway?

An interim reply has been received from the Norwegian Government stating that an explanation has

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can give any information as to the setting up in Kenya Colony of a standing finance committee; what powers will be given to this committee; and what safeguards of native interests will be taken?

According to the latest information available, neither the personnel nor the functions of this committee have yet been decided.