asked the Minister of Transport whether, in the interest of public safety, he will take steps to prevent a repetition of the 1,000 miles rally last week held under the auspices of the Royal Automobile Club?

I have no power to prohibit the holding of reliability trials, but my hon. and gallant Friend will remember that participants are liable to proceedings if they contravene the law.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can make available to Members the circular to highway authorities laying down the new principles for the lay-out of roads, and the standard widths in future to be adopted?

I have made arrangements for copies to be available at the Vote Office.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has now taken into fuller consideration the case of the men who are forced by the public assistance commissioners to keep adult able-bodied relations, but whom his Department will not allow to make a counter-claim for this on the deductions from their wages for Income Tax?

I am unable to add anything to the terms of the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on the 19th December last in reply to a question on the same subject.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered a letter sent from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders with reference to the Budget; and whether, in planning his proposals, he will bear in mind the number of ancillary trades which would benefit from any reduction in the horse-power tax and the petrol and oil duties?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative and to the second that all relevant matters will be taken into consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total sum of money paid by the British Government to French authorities in the form of dock dues, berthing, etc., of ships conveying British troops, equipment, nurses, ambulances, and all impedimenta of war during the Great War, 1914–19?

According to an estimate made in 1922 the total amount paid by His Majesty's Government to France on harbour dues and services for the British Navy and disbursements on behalf of the Ministry of Shipping amounted to approximately £2 millions for the period from the outbreak of war up to the 31st March, 1919.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether the British Treasury is agreeing to defray the extra cost incurred in policing the Free State frontier to stop the smuggling of imported cattle intended ultimately for this country; and why this extra charge should be imposed on the British taxpayer?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. With regard to the second part, the Customs service is a reserved service under the Government of Ireland Act and the responsibility for the prevention of smuggling therefore rests upon the Imperial Government, which defrays the cost and collects the duties.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will state the number, and give particulars, of the prosecutions which have taken place under the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Act since it was passed in 1921; and whether any other cases of suspected smuggling have arisen where prosecutions were not instituted owing to difficulty in obtaining reliable evidence?

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will furnish a list of persons or firms who have been permitted to import plumage prohibited entry to this country under the provisions of the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Act, 1921; for what purposes the permits were granted; and whether any and, if so, which permits still remain in force?

Fourteen prosecutions have taken place under the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Act, since it was passed in 1921. No separate record is kept of the cases referred to in the second part of the question.

I fear that the compilation of the particulars asked for by the hon. Member would involve a disproportionate expenditure of time and labour. As to the purpose for which the permits have been granted, I would refer to Section 2 (4) of the Act. Certain permits, for instance to museums and to ornithologists, remain in force.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what would be the cost of awarding pensions of 10s. per week to all spinsters of 60 years of age who are regular contributors to the health insurance scheme?

The cost of granting contributory old age pensions at age 60, instead of at the present age of 65, to insured spinsters would be approximately £2,000,000 a year at the present time. The cost would increase steadily in future.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the recent order abolishing the full protective duties on potatoes, other than new, has caused grave concern to the industry, including the Potato Marketing Board, at the moment when the board's efforts were beginning to establish confidence in the industry's future; that practically no opportunity of stating their case against the said abolition was given either to the board or to the producers in general; and will he take steps forthwith to annul the said order or suspend its operation until such time as the case can receive a proper examination?

The decision to remove the duty temporarily was reached after full examination of the situation, in the course of which I understand the views of the Marketing Board and the Farmers' Unions were carefully considered. The answer to the third part of the question is in the negative. I may, however, remind my hon. and gallant Friend that the Import Duties Advisory Committee in their report say that they fully anticipate that in a few months' time the exceptional conditions which led them to recommend the removal of the duty will have ceased to be operative; that they will keep the matter under review; and that if and when their anticipations are realised they will recommend that the duty be re-imposed.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many farmers were fined by the Milk Marketing Board last year for the following offences: for selling milk wholesale without a contract, for selling milk by retail with holding a producer-retailer's licence, for rendering false returns, and for failing to furnish information and returns, respectively?

I am informed by the Milk Marketing Board that during 1935 penalties were imposed in pursuance of the Scheme on 60 producers for selling milk by wholesale otherwise than under a contract prescribed by and registered with the board; on 54 producers for selling milk by retail without a producer-retailer's licence; on three producers for rendering false returns, and on 184 producers for failing to furnish information and returns.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can furnish an estimate of the production of eggs in the United Kingdom in 1931 and 1935, respectively; and what proportion of our total consumption was in each year represented by United Kingdom production?

The estimated production of eggs in the United Kingdom amounted to 4,212 million eggs in 1931 and 4,614 million in 1935, representing 58 per cent. and 66 per cent. respectively of the total consumption of eggs in shell in those years.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in the develpoment of a national policy for food farming, and defence, he will extend the wheat quota scheme which applies to only one-fifth of our annual wheat requirements so as to ensure a home-grown supply of at least one-third of our annual needs?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for East Dorset (Mr. Hall-Caine) on 26th March, of which I. am sending him a copy.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the cause of the pollution of the South Workshire Canal between Sandal and Keadby; if he is aware that angling associations have been compelled to discontinue fishing matches in consequence; and whether any action has been taken by the appropriate authority?

My right hon. Friend has no information on the subject mentioned by the hon. Member, but he is making inquiries regarding it.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the uneasiness of certain branches of the medical profession in regard to the practice of retail butchers and fishmongers of purchasing old newspapers for the purpose of wrapping up meat and fish sold in retail shops, he will consider making further investigations in this matter as to the advisability of action being taken to stop this practice?

On general grounds of cleanliness the practice referred to by my hon. Friend is to be deprecated, but I am advised there is no definite evidence that such a practice is a factor in the spreading of disease, and therefore I do not think any further investigation is necessary.

asked the Minister of Health what was the amount in the £ of the rate levied by each county council and county borough council in the home counties for the year 1935–36; and what is the corresponding amount proposed to be levied by each of those councils for the year 1936–7?

I will send the hon. Member a statement giving the information desired when I have received the necessary particulars in respect of 1936–37 from the various rating authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the British official wireless service from Rugby has, within the last six months, called attention, in any form, to the progressive developments at British seaside resorts; and whether he can state the number of occasions on which such references have been made?

The answer to the first part of the question is No, Sir. The second part of the question does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any statement to make with reference to projected negotiations by Japan with Siam for making a canal through the isthmus of Kra; and what the attitude of the British Government is towards such a project?

My right hon. Friend has no information that such negotiations are projected.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give the House any information about the progress of the Anglo-Egyptian negotiations?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend yesterday to a similar question asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Norwood (Mr. Sandys).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether his attention has been called to cases of expulsion of British subjects from Italy; and whether he is taking any action in the matter?

My right hon. Friend's attention has been drawn to three recent cases in which British subjects have been expelled from Italy. My hon. Friend will, I am sure, realise that the propriety and utility of representations to foreign Governments in cases of this kind is circumscribed by the general right of Governments to expel from their territory foreign nationals whose presence they have reason to regard as undesirable. But, in every case which has been brought to the notice of my right hon. Friend or of His Majesty's Ambassador in Rome, the matter has been promptly taken up with the Italian authorities in the manner which seemed most appropriate to the circumstances, with the result that, in two out of these three cases, the conditions under which the persons in question were obliged to leave Italy were considerably alleviated.

asked the Minister of Pensions the cost per head of maintaining patients at the hospitals of the Ministry at Cosham, Hants, and Erskine House, Renfrewshire, respectively; and what are the proportions of that cost due to administrative charges, medical attention, and to food?

The cost at the Ministry hospital at Cosham is 8s. per patient per day, but precise analysis of the expenditure cannot be prepared on the lines desired. The Princess Louise Scottish Hospital for Maimed and Limbless Sailors and Soldiers at Erskine House is not maintained by the Ministry and no information is therefore available as to the analysis of cost. The cost to the Ministry of its own patients in this hospital is about 7s. 8d. per head per day.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will take steps to provide treatment allowances for ex-service men undergoing hospital treatment where such ex-service men are undergoing treatment for a disability which the Ministry accepts as having been aggravated by service in the War; and how the Ministry is able to decide that aggravating effects in the case of phthisis have ceased to operate?

Treatment allowances are, subject to the usual conditions, granted to pensioners undergoing a course of in-patient treatment approved by my medical officers as being necessary for the present condition of a disability whether due to or still aggravated by war service. The question whether the aggravating effects of war service still persist is a matter determined by my medical advisers on the history and facts of each case.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will favourably consider granting assistance for the building on Tyneside of the sister ship to the "Queen Mary," and so help to relieve the serious unemployment in that scheduled special area?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in considering an application for assistance towards the construction of the sister ship to the "Queen Mary," now as Liverpool is on the scheduled list, he will give consideration to an application from the Merseyside?

No proposal under the North Atlantic Shipping Act for building a sister ship has been received. If eventually it should be decided to build such a ship the choice of builder would appear to be a matter for consideration by the Cunard White Star Company on the relative technical and commercial merits of the case.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in all Government contracts in connection with rearmament proposals, he will require the introduction of a clause binding contractors, when taking on new labour, to engage a fixed minimum percentage of men over 40 years of age who have been out of work for 12 months?

I regret that it would be impossible to impose upon employers a condition such as that suggested. But I have no doubt that the increase in the demand for labour will automatically afford more prospects of employment for the men in question either directly on work in connection with the re-armament proposals or indirectly on other work on which vacancies may arise. It is already the practice for Employment Exchanges to consider how the best use can be made of the older men's experience.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give the following particulars in respect to insured and uninsured persons registered at the Ferndale, Porth, Tonypandy and Treorchy exchanges: the number of unemployed, giving the figures separately for males and females, insured and uninsured, for the month of February, 1936, and the number in receipt of unemployment benefit and unemployment assistance, respectively; the percentage of insured persons unemployed at each of the exchanges during the month of February, 1936; the number of unemployed persons registered at each of the exchanges and within the age groups 14–15, 15–16, 16–17, 17–18, 18–19, and

The following table gives the information desired, so far as it is available in my Department:

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the growing practice of the public assistance authorities deducting the value of school meals from unemployment allowances; and will he have inquiries made with a view to such practice being brought to an end?

I am not aware of any such change of practice as is referred to; and I would point out that, in any case, I have no power to give directions to local authorities of the nature suggested.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the matter of a re-hearing of the case of the Beamish miners by the Umpire?

Art application for a re-hearing was made to the Umpire, who has decided, I understand, that there are no new facts submitted so far to justify a revision of the decision.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will sate the number of persons on the registers of the Employment Exchanges in Great Britain as at the last convenient date, and the number with claims for benefit, admitted or under consideration, giving the figures separately for the Walworth Road (Borough) Exchange?

At 24th February, 1936, there were 2,025,021 unemployed persons aged 14 years and upwards on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain, of whom 987,045 were insured persons, aged 16–64, with claims for insurance benefit admitted or under consideration. The corresponding figures for the Borough (Walworth Road) Employment Exchange were 12,703 and 8,496 respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of females employed as indoor domestic servants in Great Britain as at the last convenient date?

At the Census of Population, 1931, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 1,470,903

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the decision of the Indian Legislature that the trade agreement between the United Kingdom and India should be denounced; and whether, in these circumstances, he will give consideration to those British manufacturing industries that are exposed to serious competition from Indian manufacturers?

I am aware that the Legislative Assembly has passed a Motion recommending the Governor-General in Council to give notice to terminate the Ottawa Agreement. If the Government of India act in accordance with this

asked the President of the Board of Trade the total value of the purchases of United Kingdom goods in 1935 made by Finland and Soviet Russia; the population of Finland and Soviet Russia; and the value per head of United Kingdom goods purchased in 1935 by Finland and Soviet Russia, respectively?

The following table shows the total declared value of merchandise, the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom, exported from this country during the year 1935 and registered as consigned to Finland and to the Soviet Union, together with the population of those countries and the value of such exports per head of the population.recommendation, the interests to which my hon. Friend refers will be borne in mind in any consequent negotiations.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he proposes to take to deal with the increase in the proportion of foreign shipping engaged in carrying goods in and out of the United Kingdom?

The tonnage of British vessels entering and clearing with cargoes in the foreign trade of the United Kingdom increased during 1935 as compared with the preceding year, although the proportion of foreign ships was slightly greater in 1935 than in 1934. Measures to assist the British shipping industry, such as the subsidy to tramp shipping and the "scrap and build" scheme, are being continued and advantage has been and will be taken of every opportunity in negotiating trade agreements or in any other direction to improve the position.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will furnish an estimate for a recent date of the total population of the British Colonial Empire, including Crown Colonies, protectorates, mandated territories, and territories under condominium; and whether he will state what proportion of the total population inhabits countries debarred by treaty engagements from granting any preference to United Kingdom goods?

According to the latest figures available, the total population of the British Colonial Empire is about 58,000,000, while the total number of persons inhabiting Colonial territories which are debarred from granting preference to United Kingdom goods is about 39,000,000, that is about two-thirds of the total.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the full cold-storage capacity for meat in Great Britain, expressed in terms of weeks' supply?

The total capacity of the frozen meat stores included in the list of such stores given in Lloyd's Register of Shipping would probably be sufficient for more than half of our annual importation of frozen beef and frozen mutton and lamb, if it were used solely for that purpose.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the storage capacity for bacon in this country; and how much is being stored at the present time?

I understand that bacon cannot be stored indefinitely without deterioration whether in cold store or otherwise and that it is normally put into consumption as soon as possible. I have no information as to the amount of storage which is available for bacon in the hands of importers and wholesalers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the storage capacity for sugar in Great Britain; and how much is being stored at the present time?

The stock of sugar in bonded warehouses on the 29th February amounted to about 470,000 tons. I understand that a few weeks' supply is also held out of bond. Owing to the fact that sugar can be stored in warehouses suitable for dry goods in general, the total capacity available cannot be estimated.

asked tae Minister of Agriculture the storage capacity for animal feeding-stuffs in Great Britain at the present time?

So far as port granaries are concerned, which may be used for the storage of grain for human or animal consumption, or both, I would refer to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to my hon. Friend the Member for King's Norton (Mr. Cartland) on 26th March. I regret that I have no information concerning the storage capacity for animal feeding-stuffs elsewhere. There is a wide variety of such feeding-stuffs, a substantial proportion of which is home-produced and is stored on the farms.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether experiments in the manufacture of poison gases, to be used against an enemy if war should break out, are being carried out by, or on behalf of, His Majesty's Government, either by the scientific research department or any Government Department, or by private individuals or commercial companies; and whether such gases are being manufactured and stored for future use and, if so, the quantity of such gases?

As the right hon. Gentleman will see from page 169 of Army Estimates, establishments are maintained for research and experiment relating to defence against gas, and in particular to investigate methods for the prevention and alleviation of human and animal suffering which might be caused by gas. They also investigate any questions referred to them by civil departments relating to protection against analogous industrial risks. He will, I hope, agree that it would not be in the public interest to go further into details on this matter of national defence.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the amount of milk produced in the various counties in the area of the Scottish milk scheme in every month since December, 1933, and grouping the counties in the west and south-west separately from those in the east and centre?

I am sending to the Noble Lady copies of detailed statements supplied by the Scottish Milk Marketing Board giving the information desired.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the maximum amount of able-bodied relief paid to man, wife, and family in Coatbridge, Airdrie, Greenock, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Kirkintilloch, Dundee, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Aberdeen, Cumnock, and Stirlingshire?

The following information has been obtained from the local authorities: