asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the countries in Europe which provide subsidies to tramp shipping and the amounts so expended in 1935?

According to the information available, the most noteworthy examples of subsidies to tramp shipping are those paid in Italy, Spain and France. In Italy, subsidies in respect of the operation of tramp vessels were provided for in the laws of the 21st December, 1931, and 17th January, 1935. The amount set aside under this head for 1935 was 50 million lire. In Spain, a sum of 10 million pesetas is set aside annually under the law of 21st August, 1925, and is used mainly for subsidies to tramp vessels. In France, while no special scheme of subsidies for tramp shipping is in operation, the grants made under the Tasso Law (12th July, 1934) in aid of shipping unsubsidised under other schemes mainly benefit tramp shipping as liner tonnage is otherwise assisted. The amount of the appropriation under the Tasso Law for 1935 was 90 million francs.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the approximate sum involved in the restoration to seamen of 2½ per cent. in their wages per annum?

I am informed by the Shipping Federation that the sum involved is estimated at roughly £240,000 per annum.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the names of those foreign countries which demand heavy deposits from companies of other nationalities established in their countries to transact insurance business, inclusive of marine insurance; and whether he will consider the adoption of similar procedure by Great Britain?

The information available shows that deposits of varying amount are required in most foreign countries from companies of other nationalities transacting insurance business therein. The requirements are varied and complicated, and it would not be possible to ascertain complete and up-to-date particulars without an undue expenditure of time and labour. In any case, I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by attempting to distinguish between countries according to the amount of the deposit required. The suggestion in the last part of the question has been noted.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information with regard to efforts made to suppress the trade in slaves in Abyssinia since the outbreak of the Italo-Abyssinian war?

Such information as I have for the period in question relates to Gore, in south-west Abyssinia. Here, following the appointment of a Government Slavery Inspector last summer, I am informed that 108 slaves were publicly set free last November in the presence of His Majesty's Consul, while a further 43 were emancipated in December.

asked the Secretary for Mines how much oil has been supplied to Italy and to the Italian colonies in Africa since 1st October, 1935, by companies in which His Majesty's Government have an interest?

The only oil company in which His Majesty's Government has a direct interest is the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and I have explained in reply to previous questions of this kind that it is not usual to disclose detailed figures relative to the commercial transactions of an individual concern. The position in regard to supplies of oil to Italy and Italian East Africa by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and the Consolidated Petroleum Company, in which the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company has an interest, was explained in reply to questions asked on the 5th December by the hon. Member for Plaistow, and on the 12th December by the hon. Member for Shipley. I am sending the hon. Member copies of these replies. There has been no material change in the position since then.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether any report has yet been received from the communications and transit organisation of the League of Nations on the matter of pollution of navigable waters; and when the same will be made public?

The report on the second session of the Committee of Experts on the pollution of the sea by oil, dated 26th October, 1935, was communicated to Governments on the 27th November. The report, which is a League of Nations publication, has been on sale to the public since December.

asked the Home Secretary what anaesthetic was used by Dr. Adli Samaan at University College, London, in the case the report of which was published in the Journal of Physiology, 22nd August, 1935, under the title "The effect of Pituitary, Posterior Lobe?"

I am informed that the operations described in the paper to which the hon. Member refers were, as stated in the footnote on page 37, performed by Dr. G. W. Theobald, and that they were performed under full anaesthesia after a preliminary injection of morphine, the anaesthetics being chloroform and ether.

asked the Minister of Health how many deaths of children under five years have been registered from smallpox; and how many have been registered as being caused by, or associated with, vaccination since the 1st January, 1908, when the present conscience clause came into force?

The total numbers for the period from the 1st January, 1908, to 31st December, 1935, are 96 and 216, respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the name of the firm of lymph manufacturers from whom his Department obtains supplies of lymph for vaccination purposes; whether the firm in question holds a licence to manufacture lymph under the Therapeutic Substances Act, 1925; and whether he will consider the desirability of obtaining lymph in future from the English Government lymph establishment instead of from private manufacturers?

The Department of Health obtain their lymph from the Jenner Institute for Calf Lymph, Limited. This firm holds both an importing and a manufacturing licence, under the Therapeutic Substances Act, 1925. The Department have found that the keeping qualities of the lymph made by the firm mentioned are peculiarly suited to Scottish needs, and I see no reason therefore to make any change.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will state the number of municipal maternity homes in the administrative county of Lancashire, including the boroughs, in each of the last five years for which figures are available?

According to returns furnished to my Department by the local authorities, the number of municipal maternity homes in the administrative county of Lancashire, including the non-county boroughs, was five in each of the years 1930 to 1934.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will state the number of practising midwives in the administrative county of Lancashire, including the boroughs, in each of the last five years for which figures are available?

According to returns furnished to my Department by the local authorities, the numbers of practising midwives in the administrative county of Lancashire, including the non-count boroughs, have been as follow:

asked the Minister of Health whether he will state the number of births in the municipal maternity homes in the administrative county of Lancashire, including the boroughs, during each of the last five years for which figures are available?

According to returns furnished to my Department by the local authorities, the numbers of births in the municipal maternity homes in the administrative county of Lancashire, including non-county boroughs, were as follow:

asked the Minister of Health whether he will state the number of houses demolished during the year 1935?

I would refer my hon. Friend to Table V of the half-yearly publication on housing which shows the number of houses demolished under the Housing Act, 1930, up to 30th September, 1935. Figures for the calendar year are not yet available.

asked the Minister of Transport whether the £70,000,000 to be contributed by the Government to the £100,000,000 five-year plan for the roads, is to be in substitution of, or in addition to, the sums normally spent on this purpose?

Grants towards the works comprised in the five-year programme are in addition to the grants made from the Road Fund for the maintenance and minor improvement of Class 1 roads and bridges in counties, to certain previous commitments, to long-term schemes such as the Dartford-Purfleet Tunnel, the Severn Bridge and the Cromwell Road Extension, and to several other purposes.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will state the average amount expended during the last eight years from the Road Fund for the purpose of new construction and major improvements?

The average annual amount expended in the last eight years from the Road Fund for new construction and major improvements is £7.4 millions.

asked the Minister of Transport what is the number of level crossings in the town of Burton-on-Trent, Derbyshire; how many of these crossings serve directly the local brewing industry; and will he endeavour to secure some adjustment of the position in view of the rapid increase in road usage, in the interest of public safety, and for the convenience of the local inhabitants?

There are 27 level crossings in Burton-on-Trent of which 25 serve the local brewing industry. With regard to the last part of the question, I shall certainly be prepared to entertain any proposal submitted to me by the responsible highway authority for the elimination of level crossings in the interests of public safety.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether, in drawing up new plans for the Navy, he will consider what use can be made of the harbour facilities at Harwich; and whether a destroyer flotilla should be stationed there?

It has, for many years, been contrary to Admiralty policy to detach forces from the fleet and station them at particular ports. Such detachment would not be in the interests of fleet training or the efficiency of the ships detached; nor would it be satisfactory from the standpoint of welfare of personnel. Visits to Harwich by a destroyer flotilla or other portion of the fleet, as in the past, will however be fully borne in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will state the total number of deaths in Ceylon from malaria between November, 1934, and April, 1935; if he is satisfied that adequate supplies of quinine were available during the whole of this period; and if the report of Colonel Gill on the subject of the malaria epidemic in Ceylon will be published?

During the epidemic it was not possible to secure accurate statistics as to the causes of all the deaths that occurred. Malaria was probably a contributory cause in the case of many deaths attributed to other diseases. I am afraid that I cannot give a more accurate figure than that contained in my reply to the hon. and gallant Member on the 12th February, which indicated the excess of deaths over the normal figure during the epidemic period. Colonel Gill reported that there was never any shortage of quinine. His report has been published as a Sessional Paper in Ceylon, and I shall be glad to place a copy in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has now been reached with the establishment of new civil aerodromes in Palestine; and whether it is proposed to continue the airport at Gaza?

It is hoped that the construction of all-weather runways at both Haifa and Lydda aerodromes will be completed before next winter. It is not proposed, so far as I am aware, to abandon the aerodrome at Gaza.

asked the Secretary for Mines how many pit-head baths have been completed each year since the Miners' Welfare Committee took charge of the building programme; and where they are situate?

The numbers of baths completed in each year by the Miners' Welfare Committee since the beginning of their building programme, and the numbers of persons accommodated, are as follow:

Particulars of the numbers of baths and the accommodation provided in each district are as follow:

asked the Secretary for Mines whether the Miners' Welfare Committee propose an expansion of the pit-head bath-building programme; where the baths, if any, are to be built; and what is the estimated cost?

I understand that the Miners' Welfare Committee are planning to expedite the building of pit-head baths and have in preparation or under construction installations to a value exceeding £1¼ millions. As regards the second part of the question, I would suggest that the hon. Member should get in touch with the Secretary of the Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can state the number of strikes that have taken place on sugar estates in British Guiana during the years 1933 to 1935, inclusive; the names of the estates on which withdrawals of labour took place during those years; the steps taken to ascertain the causes of such withdrawals by an impartial tribunal other than a law court; what increases in the wages of unskilled labour in British Guiana have arisen since the provision of unemployment relief works by grants and loans; and can he cause inquiry to be made into the whole matter, including the reduction of wages to 52 cents per day on all public works in the Colony from 1934 onwards, resulting in a general lowering of labouring wages and an inadequate standard of living?

Strikes have occurred on three occasions during the period to which the hon. Member refers. I do not think any useful purpose would be served by a recital of the names of the estates affected. As the hon. Member is aware, a Commission has been appointed by the Governor to investigate the whole matter. There has been no reduction in the rates of wages paid to unskilled labour on Public Works during the period to which the hon. Member refers; nor, so far as I am aware, has there been any general lowering of wages or standard of living of unskilled labourers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether he is aware that on the commission appointed in British Guiana to inquire into the causes of dissatisfaction among wage-earners, such wage-earners are not represented; that despite the representations of an accredited labour organisation no satisfaction can be obtained; and whether he will take steps to ensure that the composition of the commission will be such as to eliminate any possibility of prejudiced inquiry?

The object of the commission appointed by the Governor was to ensure that an impartial inquiry should be held. No representatives of sectional interests were included and that is the reason why there is no representative of the wage-earners or the-employers in this industry. The commission will naturally take evidence from all the parties concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Government proposes to take, or has taken, any action, and, if so, what, on the report of the disturbances in the copper belt of Southern Rhodesia, particularly with regard to the high rate of head tax and the charges regarding the corporal punishment of the African workers?

I am placing copies of the Governor's despatch on the commission's report, and of my reply to it, in the Library of the House, and I shall be glad also to send copies to the hon. Member herself. With regard to the native poll tax, the commission found that the principle of the new rates introduced by the Northern Rhodesia Government last year was fair and reasonable. The question of action in regard to the ill-treatment of native employés at one of the mines is at present being considered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether the Bacon Board succeeded in supplying during 1935 their share of the statutory minimum weight of bacon recommended by the Lane-Fox Commission; and, if not, what action he proposes to take to provide an adequate supply of bacon to the public?

:Adjustments in supplies of bacon from foreign sources are made from time to time in the light of the latest information available with regard to supplies coining forward from home and Dominion sources. Bacon production in this country in 1935 did not reach the full level originally anticipated, but the total supplies of bacon from all sources available to the consumer during that year closely approximated to the Lane-Fox level.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to the census of the area report of the Potato Marketing Board upon the census of the area under potatoes in Great Britain, in which it is stated that between June, 1934, and June, 1935, there was a decline of 29,000 acres under this crop; whether he can state approximately what unemployment this has caused; and what steps, if any, are being taken to increase the potato acreage at least by the area by which it has fallen?

I am aware of the statement in the report referred to. I am unable to say what effect, if any, the reduction in the area of potatoes planted by registered growers last year has had upon employment. As to the last part of the question, past experience suggests that the improved growers' prices this season should result in an increased potato acreage in 1936, as the unremunerative price for previous years resulted in a decrease.

asked the Minister of Labour when he will be in a position to announce the policy of the Government regarding the distressed areas?

The policy of the Government regarding the depressed areas has been frequently stated and the reports presented to the House last week detailing the activities of the Commissioners for Special Areas in England and Wales and Scotland indicate the manner in which that policy is being steadily pursued.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of persons between the ages of 18 and 40 who are at present registered as unemployed; and will he give separate figures for the borough of Southwark?

Statistics showing the numbers of persons, aged 18 to 40 years, registered as unemployed are not available, but a special analysis made on 4th November, 1935, showed that the numbers of unemployed persons, aged 18 to 44 years inclusive, on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain at that date were 957,709 men and 216,673 women. The corresponding figures for the Borough (Walworth Road) Employment Exchange were 5,858 men and 1,568 women. Similar statistics relating to residents in the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark are not available.