asked the Secretary of State for India whether isolation of small-pox cases is compulsory in any part of India; to what extent hospital accommodation is publicly provided for the treatment of small-pox in British India; and how many cases have been treated in such hospitals during the past five years?

The matter is one which falls within the responsibility of the provincial authorities in India, and my information on the subject is not complete. The treatment of small-pox cases in isolation hospitals in India is rare, and so far as I know is nowhere compulsory. The number of small-pox patients so treated in British India during the years 1928 to 1932 was as follows:

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury upon what terms the Conservative Central Office has received permission from the Stationery Office to reprint Section 1 of the Report of the Joint Select Committee ion Indian Constitutional Reform; and will he give precedents for similar action in the past?

Permission to reprint Section 1 of the Report of the Joint Select Committee on Indian Constitutional Reform was given to the Conservative Central Office by the Controller of the Stationery Office, in whom Crown copyright is vested, on the terms that the source from which the reproduction was taken would be duly acknowledged and the fact that the, Controller's permission had been obtained would be stated on the reprint. The action taken in this case, as in that of the application from the Labour party for permission to reprint an extract from the Proceedings of the Committee, was in accordance with the principles laid down in a Treasury Minute of 28th June, 1912, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of pneumatic picks in use, or the number of collieries using the same, for Great Britain, with separate figures for Durham, for the years 1927, 1923, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932 and 1933?

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of collieries in South Wales at which supplies of fresh water are piped from the surface to the horses' stables below ground, and also piped to the working places where the horses are employed during their shifts?

The Coal Mines Act, 1911, requires that a sufficient supply of pure water shall be provided daily for every horse while in the stable and while at work. It is part of the duties regularly carried out by His Majesty's inspectors to see that this requirement is met, but I have no statistical information as to the particular means adopted to comply with it.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of separate charges of ill-treatment of ponies used below ground in mines heard in court in 1933, and, so far, in 1934; the number of convictions and total amount paid in fines; the ages of the persons prosecuted in each case; whether any of the injured ponies had to be destroyed; and if there was reason to believe that the injured ponies had been employed for more than one shift per day before the injury was inflicted in any case, or whether the drivers were unsuitable?

Information for the year 1933 as to the number of charges, number of convictions and total amount paid in fines, is contained in Table 61 of my Department's Annual Report for that year. Similar information for 1934 is not yet available. The other particulars desired by the hon. Member are not available.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of persons, male and female respectively, classed as domestic workers in Portsmouth dockyard?

On the assumption that the hon. Member refers to those employés who are excepted from insurance under the Unemployment Insurance Acts on the grounds that their employment is in the nature of domestic service, the numbers concerned are, male 15, female 38.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact that during the first 10 months of this year the percentage of British shipping entering the ports of the United Kingdom was only 57.7 per cent. of the total, as compared with 58.6 per cent. and 60.2 per cent. for the corresponding periods of 1933 and 1932, respectively, and that similar percentages for British shipping leaving United Kingdom ports are 60.4 per cent., 61 per cent., and 63.5 per cent., respectively; whether he can give reasons for the decline; and whether he proposes to take any steps to counteract it?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the rest of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the Government proposals for assisting British shipping which are now before the House.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of work-people employed in the cotton industry in Lancashire during the week ended 31st July, 1931, and for the latest week for which figures are available?

Separate statistics of the estimated numbers of insured persons, and of such persons recorded as unemployed, in particular industries, are ordinarily compiled only for administrative divisions and not for individual counties. The following Table gives, for the cotton industry classification in the North Western Division (which includes, besides Lancashire, the Counties of Cheshire, Cumberland and Westmorland, and the Glossop and New Mills Districts of Derbyshire) the estimated numbers of insured persons, aged 16 to 64, at the beginning of July in each of the years 1931 and 1934, and the numbers of such persons recorded as unemployed at a date towards the end of July in these years.

asked the Minister of Labour the total wages paid to work-people in the cotton industry in Lancashire during the week ended 31st July, 1931, and for the latest week for which figures are available?

I regret that statistics are not available showing the total amount of weekly wages paid to work-people in this industry.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons on the register of the Rochester and Gravesend Employment Exchanges at the latest convenient date?

At 22nd October, 1934, there were 4,751 unemployed persons registered at the Chatham Employment Exchange, and 2,387 at the Gravesend Employment Exchange. These figures include persons registered at the local juvenile employment bureaux.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether a decision has yet been reached on the recommendations of the Cohen Committee on Industrial Insurance; and whether a Bill is to be introduced to implement these recommendations?

As the hon. Member is no doubt aware from the recent statement of the Prime Minister on future business, there is no possibility of time being found for this subject in the present session of Parliament. In the circumstances the Government have deferred further consideration of it for the time being.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether the previously earned retired pay or pension of any State pensioner was taken into consideration by those framing the Army Orders of 1917 and 1920 that dealt with disability pensions?

Yes, Sir; special provision was made in the Royal Warrants of 1st August, 1917, and of 2nd July, 1920, for officers disabled by Great War service and in receipt of retired pay or pension in respect of service. Their position was fully considered and reported on by the Select Committee on Pensions in 1919, and the provision made in the Warrant of 1920 was in accordance with the recommendations of that committee.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that no acknowledgment of error in telegrams is made by his Department in respect of figures announcing the sale or purchase of stocks and shares; and, as this sometimes results in loss to the brokers concerned, will he be prepared to consider the payment of compensation in cases where such errors are proved to be at the instance of a Government Department?

I am aware of the position, but I regret that I cannot see my way to alter the long-established practice under which the Post Office is not liable for compensation in respect of loss due to an error in a telegram.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will consider painting the pedestrian crossing beacons with luminous paint so that they might be seen at night?

I am advised that it is very doubtful whether luminous paint would be effective for the purpose of making beacons more visible at night, but I am having my hon. Friend's suggestion further examined.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the increased congestion in crowded thoroughfares and the changed nature of some of the fuels now used by motor vehicles, whether it is proposed to make further investigation into the possibility of exhaust fumes having harmful effects on the health of persons constantly employed in such congested areas?

I have been asked to reply. I have no evidence that the position has changed substantially since the question was considered by the Departmental Committee of the Home Office last year, but if my hon. Friend has any new evidence or specific proposals to bring before me I shall be happy to examine them.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he has received from the Permanent Secretary to his Department any report in regard to the visit paid by that official, on 26th November, to the newly-erected Ilmington Road senior school at Selly Oak, Birmingham, at the invitation of the Education Committee of the city of Birmingham; whether he is aware that this school, accommodating 360 boys and 360 girls, has been built entirely of timber from British Columbia as an experiment, and at a cost less by some 25 per cent. than the cost of building a school of equal size from brick, stone, or other similar materials; and whether the Board will take measures to encourage the construction of similar timber schools in other education areas throughout the country?

I am aware of the facts mentioned in the question, and I am glad to confirm them. The use of timber as an alternative to traditional methods of brick construction has already been advocated in a Circular issued by the Board of Education in July, 1932, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.