asked the Postmaster-General whether he has yet reseived the report of the committee set up to consider television; and whether he is now in a position to state the terms and conditions under which the broadcasting of television will be carried out?

The Television Committee has not yet submitted a report.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give an estimate of how much pensions at 60 would cost, assuming that the amount of public assistance which would otherwise be granted in such cases is taken into consideration?

My hon. and gallant Friend does not give details of the scheme he has in mind. If the age at which contributory pensions are granted were reduced from 65 to 60 it is estimated that the present cost of such pensions, namely, about £19,000,000 a year, would be increased by about £29,500,000 to about £48,500,000 a year. It is not possible to estimate the savings which would result on unemployment assistance and public assistance.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is intended this Session to introduce a Bill dealing with the superannuation provisions affecting the Civil Service; and, if so, when he expects the Measure will be laid before the House?

Yes, Sir, provided Parliamentary time permits. I cannot state at present when it will be possible to introduce the Bill.

asked the Minister of Health the reasons which have actuated him in advising the Hornchurch Urban District Council not to proceed further with the suggested loan to borrowers anxious to purchase their houses on mortgage and suggesting that, alternatively, the council should ascertain whether they could borrow the sums they require from the building societies; and whether this policy is being prescribed to all local authorities in a similar position to Hornchurch?

I would refer my hon. Frend to the reply given to the question put by the hon. Member for Plaistow (Mr. Thorne) on Thursday last, a copy of which, together with a copy of the letter mentioned at the end of the reply, I am sending to him. It will be obvious to my hon. Friend that before sanctioning an increase in the capital liability of a local authority I must satisfy myself of its necessity.

asked the Minister of Health what sums have been sanctioned in each of the last three years under the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts, which enable local authorities to make advances to persons who are desirous of purchasing their homes?

The loans sanctioned under the Small Dwellings Acquisition Acts during the periods mentioned were:

	£
Year ended 31st March, 1932	1,737,042
Year ended 31st March, 1933	1,644,296
Year ended 31st March, 1934	3,433,611

These figures include loan sanctions issued to metropolitan borough councils by the London County Council. In addition, the London County Council itself promised to make direct advances to the amounts of £28,230, £24,910 and £34,530.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office what, if any, land in Portsmouth and the surrounding district under the control of the War Office has been leased or sold since January, 1932; and details of the location, prices received, and method of disposal?

Apart from ten minor sales, which amounted to £3,112 in all, the following properties have been sold since January, 1932:—

Location.	Price.
	£
(1) Alverstoke Battery No. 2	1,500
(2) Lumps Fort	25,000
(3) Victoria Park	5,750

These properties were sold by private treaty. It is not the practice to publish details of leases.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office the latest figures with regard to the cost and personnel of the Officers' Training Corps, and the names of the school cadet corps awaiting recognition as Officers' Training Corps?

The strength of the Officers' Training Corps (excluding permanent staff) on 1st October, 1934, was: Senior division, 154 officers and 4,414 cadets; junior division, 597 officers and 23,746 cadets. Figures of the cost are given on pages 64 and 65 of the current Army Estimates. I am sending the hon. Member a list of schools which, from time to time, have applied to form contingents.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether, in view of the large number of working mothers in Accrington, he will provide a nursery school for Accrington and district?

The proposal of the Accrington local education authority to provide a nursery school has recently been discussed with representatives of the authority, who are considering the revision of the plans with a view to their approval by the Board.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the failure to effect a substantial reduction in the number of road accidents, he will cause investigations to be made into the number of such accidents in which alcohol is either a primary or a contributory cause?

According to the detailed analysis of the principal circumstances in which fatal accidents

—	Average price obtained per unit sold 1932–33.	Reduction on 1929–30 figures.
Lighting and Domestic Supplies.	d.	d.	Per cent.
Metropolitan Borough Councils	1·88	0·28	13
Extra London Local Authorities	2·04	0·53	20·6
London Companies	2·83	0·46	14
Extra London Companies	2·68	0·87	24·5
Power Supplies.
Metropolitan Borough Councils	0·97	0·08	7·6
Extra London Local Authorities	0·85	0·09	9·5
London Companies	0·95	0·17	15·2
Extra London Companies	0·84	0·03	3·4

The economies in generation due to the grid scheme for South-East England which came into operation at the beginning of this year are likely to result in

asked the Minister of Transport what reductions have taken place in the last three years in the various districts comprised in the London area in the price of electricity; and whether the completion of the grid is likely to lead to any fruther reduction in the near future?

Including the Joint Electricity Authority, there are 86 separate undertakers in the London and Home Counties Electricity District. The reductions in charges made during the last three years are too numerous to give in detail, and I would refer the hon. Member to the annual return embodying information as to charges and tariffs which is published by the Joint Authority. As an indication, however, of the downward trend of charges in the various districts comprised in the greater London area, the following figures may be given:an increased consumption of electricity and in further reductions in charges to the benefit of consumers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the present position of various Governments with regard to the signature and ratification

GENERAL CONVENTION TO IMPROVE THE MEANS OF PREVENTING WAR.*
(Geneva, September 26th, 1931.)
Not in Force.
Ratifications or definitive Accessions.	Signatures or Accessions not yet Perfected by Ratification.	The Convention is open to Accession by:
The Netherlands (including the Netherlands Indies, Surinam and Curaçao) (May 30th, 1933).	Albania.	Abyssinia.
	Austria.	Afghanistan.
	Belgium.	Union of South Africa.
	Bulgaria.	United States of America.
Norway (July 18th, 1932).	Colombia.	Sa'udi Arabia.
Peru (March 29th, 1932).	Czechoslovakia.	Argentine Republic.
	Denmark.	Australia.
	France. Ratification cannot take place until it has been possible for the Government of the Republic to ascertain that the regulations provided for in Article 4, and which must be elaborated in order to enter into force at the same time as the Convention, ensure the guarantees of control which are deemed necessary by the French Government.	Bolivia.
		Brazil.
		Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
		Canada.
		Chile.
		China.
		Costa Rica.
		Cuba
		Dominican Republic.
	Germany.	Ecuador.
	Greece.	Egypt.
	Lithuania.	Estonia.
	Luxemburg.	Finland.
	Panama. This signature does not affect in any way the provisions of the treaties of conciliation and arbitration concluded up to this date by the Republic of Panama with other Powers.	Guatemala.
		Haiti.
		Honduras.
		Hungary.
		India.
		Iraq.
	Portugal.	Irish Free State.
	Siam.	Italy.
	Spain.	Japan.
	Sweden.	Latvia.
	Switzerland.	Liberia.
	Uruguay.	Mexico.
		New Zealand.
		Nicaragua.
		Paraguay.
		Persia.
		Poland.
		Roumania.
		Salvador.
		Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
		Turkey.
		Venezuela.
		Yugoslavia.
* A Procès-verbal shall be drawn up by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations as soon as ratifications or accessions on behalf of ten Members of the League of Nations or non-member States have been deposited (Article 13, paragraph 1).
The present Convention shall be registered by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations 90 days after the date of the procès-verbal mentioned in Article 13. It will then enter into force as regards all Members of the League of Nations or non-member States on whose behalf ratifications or accessions have been deposited on the date of the procès-verbal (Article 14, paragraph 1).

The position is shown in the following tables:

asked the Home Secretary the number of firms now operating the two-shift system of working for women and young persons; the number which have been approved and sanctioned by

Many Orders authorising two-shift working are obtained to meet emergencies and are only used for a short time, and I regret that I have no up-to-date information as to the number actually in use; but inquiries made last spring showed that the number of Orders then in use or likely to be used again was 810. Since 1st January, 1932, 862 Orders have been granted to 505 firms, affecting 588 works. Particulars of the Orders, giving names and addresses of the firms, are placed in the Library and brought up to date at the end of each quarter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what methods and what instruments were used to destroy the grey seals during the humane demonstration of destroying these animals on the coast of Cornwall?

I am informed that the seals were shot with service rifles of.303 calibre, and that the demonstrations were carried out by good marksmen operating under the supervision of the Cornwall Fishery Officer who reported that the death of the seals was generally instantaneous.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will make further inquiries as to the number of grey seals killed on the north coast of Cornwall during the past summer in connection with the demonstration organised by the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee in order to ascertain whether the number is correctly reported as 71 or was actually 120?

The number 71 which I mentioned in my answer of 22nd November was taken from a report by the Cornwall fishery officer dated 10th September, 1934, as the number of seals, not necessarily grey seals, killed up to that date in the course of the committee's demonstration. The close season for grey seals begins on 1st September, and I did not anticipate that the committee would continue its operations during the close season. I now learn, in reply to inquiries addressed to the clerk of the committee, that up to date 177 seals have been killed, of which it will appear that not less than 106 must have been killed after the opening of the close season for grey seals. The committee are well aware of the provisions of the Grey Seals Protection Act, 1932, and, having regard to the difficulty of distinguishing between grey seals and common seals in the water, I am surprised that they should have allowed their demonstration to continue during this time. I am in communication with the committee on the subject. I had no reason to doubt that, as no suggestion of any kind had been made to the contrary by the committee, this demonstration was being carried out within the time permitted by law, and I much regret that I inadvertently misinformed my hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne (Lieut.-Commander Agnew) in my previous answer. I am sending copies of this answer to other hon. Members who put questions arising out of my reply to my hon. Friend.