asked the Postmaster-General the number of radio pirate stations which have been traced and stopped this year; and whether he regards the penalties for such piracy as adequate?

During the first five months of this year 1,447 persons were prosecuted to conviction for installing or working wireless apparatus without the appropriate licence. I have no reason to think that the penalties laid down in the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1904, are inadequate.

asked the Postmaster-General whether any request has been made to him for the licensing of a Jewish radio station in this country; and whether he can make any statement with regard to this matter?

I have received no such request.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in developing the system of regional police wireless communication, steps will be taken to ensure that the scheme will not cause any interference with the reception of broadcast programmes?

The need for avoiding interference of this kind is fully appreciated and all possible steps will be taken to that end.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any experiments by spraying from the air for the destruction of locusts or malarial mosquitoes have been carried out in any area controlled by his Department; and, if so, were the experiments considered to be successful?

Certain experiments against locusts were carried out last year by the Government of Northern Rhodesia. These showed that it is possible to destroy locusts in flights by spraying them with finely divided poison dust from aircraft. The report on these investigations was considered by the Third International Locust Conference, held in London in September last, which recommended that further work should be carried out with a view to developing these methods of locust control. I am not aware of any experiments in the destruction of malarial mosquitoes by similar methods in any of the Dependencies.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, seeing that the secretary of the committee of inquiry into the provision of libraries in secondary schools, which was set up by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust and which is to report to the trustees, is a civil servant in his Department, and that all correspondence of the committee in sent out on Board of Education notepaper from the Board's office, he will state why this private trust is afforded the services of State servants, office accommodation, and material?

The stationery used for the correspondence of this com- mittee is supplied by the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, and not, as the hon. Member assumes, by the Board. The subject of the inquiry is one of great interest to the Board and one with which they are directly concerned. They accordingly thought it proper to place at the disposal of the committee the part-time services of one of their officers as its secretary and accommodation for its meetings.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education the number of children on the registers of the public elementary schools in the city of Leicester at 29th June, 1935, or the latest convenient date?

I regret that I have no figures for any date later than 31st March, 1935, when the number of children on the registers of public elementary schools maintained by the

Description.					Quantity.		Declared value.
Empty cartridge cases for small arms ammunition:					Number.	Cwts.	£
Military ammunition	…	…	…	…	2,100	1	17
Sporting ammunition	…	…	…	…	11,536,290	2,211	14,781

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of insured juveniles, aged 14 to 16, who were unemployed in the City of Birmingham at the last convenient date.

At 24th June, 1933, there were 63 insured boys and 30 insured girls, aged 14 and under 16, registered at the Birmingham juvenile employment bureau as applicants for employment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the loss of revenue due to the exemption from tax of alcohol used as motor fuel?

About £30,000 for the year 1934–35.

asked the Minister of Health whether any regular inspection of cemeteries is carried out by officers of his Department?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the volume of the import trade in foreign cartridge cases in 1934?

The imports of cartridge cases into the United Kingdom during the year 1934 consigned from foreign countries were as follow:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) the names of those county councils who respectively agreed and refused to forego the revenue they at present derive from the male servants' tax under the Revenue Act, 1869; what amounts were receivable by each county and borough council for the last financial year for which records are available; and whether he will now address a further communication to those who then refused urging them to consent;(2)whether he will consider the possibility of ceasing to levy the male servants' tax as from 1st January next in those counties and county boroughs which have agreed to forego the proceeds thereof?

A year ago the County Councils' Association informed me that they had inquired of the county councils of England and Wales whether they would support a proposal for the abolition of the male servant duty,

"regard being had to the fact that the loss sustained will not be made good by the Exchequer";

and that out of 60 councils 37 returned a negative answer, 20 were in favour of the proposal and three expressed no opinion. The Association unanimously decided not to recommend

"the abolition of the male servant licence duty at the expense of the rates."

I have no information as to the views of any particular council, and I do not favour my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion that I should approach them individually. As my hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury stated in the House on the Third Reading of this year's Finance Bill, the reconsideration of the block grants due in 1937 may afford the best chance of making an arrangement satisfactory to all parties. As regards the second part of the first question, I will send the figures for the latest available year to my hon. and gallant Friend privately. There are 145 counties and county boroughs concerned, and I do not think the information is of sufficient general interest to be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for War what countries were, or are to be, represented at any manoeuvres or tournaments this year, stating the number and category of officers in each case?

Invitations to attend Army Manoeuvres have been sent to all foreign military attaches and assistant military attaches in London. The total is 23. No foreign countries have been represented at military tournaments this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many British professors there are in the faculties of arts, law, and science, respectively, in the University of Cairo now; and how the number compares in each case with that of 12 years ago?

There are at present nine British professors in the faculty of medicine at the University of Cairo, one in the faculty of law, two in the faculty of arts and three in the faculty of science. The University of Cairo only opened in 1925. In that year there were altogether 10 British professors. I regret that I cannot at the moment state the number of British professors in each faculty for that year, but I will communicate the information to my hon. Friend as soon as I receive it.