asked the Prime Minister whether he will give particulars of appointments as permanent heads of Departments since 1918, stating in each case the vacancy filled, the name of the officer appointed, and the Department in which the officer was serving when he was so appointed; and whether, in the case of any officer not serving in the Treasury at the time of his appointment, he had at any other time served in the Treasury?

Following is a list of the appointments, during the period specified, in the Civil Service to the Administrative posts at a salary of £3,000 a year referred to in the question.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether he is in a position to state what arrangements will be made, pending the erection of the new Whitehall building, to re-house the Departments in Whitehall Gardens which will be displaced owing to the building operations?

Arrangements have been made to lease the premises now known as the Metropole Hotel, which are expected to be adapted and ready for occupation by Christmas, 1936.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the strong opinion in favour of equal pay for the common classes of the Civil Service, he will, to satisfy both critics and Members favourable to equal pay, introduce the principle as an experiment in one common class of the Civil Service, such as the clerical, with the object of ascertaining how such an innovation operates in practice?

I would refer the hon. Member to the discussion which took place in the House on this topic on the 6th instant. The Government do not see their way to adopt the hon. Member's suggestion.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what complaints have been received during the last five years in respect of the alleged smuggling of plumage the importation of which is prohibited under the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Act; and what have been the results of any inquiries that have been instituted?

Full information as to the complaints received in the last five years by the Customs authorities as to alleged smuggling of prohibited plumage cannot be obtained without undue labour and expenditure of time. But I understand that from time to time during that period the authorities have investigated cases in which they received information as to plumage of prohibited kinds being offered for sale in this country, and that investigation revealed no evidence of infringement of the prohibition.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will take action to have a commission set up to investigate the conditions in the fishing industry in the Western Isles and to make a public report as to how the industry may be revived and improved?

The question of the conditions in the fishing industry in the area mentioned is receiving my attention in connection with other questions relating to the Highlands and Islands, but I am not prepared at present to give any undertaking as to the appointment of such a commission as is suggested in the question.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any reports from His Majesty's representatives abroad which indicate how Germany can finance by internal borrowing a rearmament programme estimated by competent authorities to be costing some £500,000,000 per annum?

His Majesty's Government naturally receive from time to time reports on the internal financial position of Germany. There are, however, as my right hon. Friend stated yesterday in reply to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for East Lewisham (Sir A. Pownall) no official figures with regard to the total amount spent by Germany on armaments.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the circumstances under which and the conditions which attach to the transfer of the ownership of the Iraq railways from His Majesty's Government to the Government of Iraq; and if he will give the original cost of the construction of those lines and the annual contribution towards the cost of maintenance out of Imperial funds during the past five years?

It was stipulated in Section 4 of the Financial Agreement attached to the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty of 1930 that the legal ownership of the Iraqui railway system should be transferred on certain conditions from His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to the Iraqi Government. Insuperable difficulties were, however, encountered in giving effect to this arrangement, and, as a result of prolonged negotiations, an Agreement was signed in Bagdad on 31st March for the transfer of the railways to the Iraqi Government on a different basis. This Agreement is subject to ratification and will therefore be laid before Parliament in the usual manner in the form of a White Paper as soon as possible. As regards the second part of the question, the track was constructed at different periods and in varying circumstances and the greater part of the original track was built by the British authorities during the War for military purposes. In these circumstances any figure purporting to represent the original cost of construction, however calculated, would only be misleading and. would bear no relation to the present commercial value of the existing railway system. There has been no contribution from Imperial funds towards the finances of the Iraqi railways since 1923.

asked the Home Secretary whether the ability of infants and young children to breathe normally, if at all, in a gas mask has been satisfactorily established; whether the period of time is known that must elapse before gas loses its harmful effects when the populace can emerge from cover with safety; what is the penetrating quality of gas; is it capable of reaching those taking cover at, say, the Underground Railway level; and what action does the Government propose to take to prevent food and water, both under cover and otherwise, becoming contaminated by gas?

The question of the protection of infants and young children is receiving attention and various alternative methods of protection are under investigation. The period of time during which poison gas continues to exercise its harmful effects depends upon a number of factors, such as the nature of the gas employed, the quantity liberated and the meteorological conditions prevailing at the time. The instructions to be issued to the public will give advice as to when it is safe to emerge from cover.When poison gas is liberated it mixes with the air in the vicinity. This leads to a progressive dilution of the gas cloud which tends to follow the path of the normal air currents existing at the time. The question whether gas could reach the tube railways would depend upon the protective measures adopted in connection with the supply of air to the railway. Consideration has already been given to this question. The Government have considered the action necessary to prevent food and water becoming contaminated by gas. Protective measures are quite practicable and will be embodied in the instructions to be issued to the public.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the purchase of gas protectors; the possibility of their effectiveness; and whether they have been tested with the newer European and Japanese gases?

I propose to make a considered statement on this subject to-morrow.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will consider the advisability of including in the statutory requirements of heavy commercial motor vehicles drivers' cabins of minimum specified dimensions and with an adequacy of ventilation?

Any dimensions specified would have to be based on the case where the cabin would be as free as possible from obstruction and would not be adequate where controls and fittings were larger. "Adequate ventilation" is a vague term and in the case of goods vehicles would nut be determinable by the authority issuing a certificate of fitness as in the case of public service vehicles. In the circumstances I do not consider that it would be possible to make satisfactory regulations.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) whether, when formulating his policy for new road construction, he has included provision for adequately lighting them in accordance with the latest scientific development;(2) whether, when he grants permission to construct new by-pass roads, he will ensure that suitable lighting is supplied such as has been found necessary on the Kingston by-pass road and thereby make them less liable to accident?

I take every opportunity of impressing upon local authorities the importance of ensuring that roads are adequately lighted. I have, however, no power to require this.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the fact that county councils receive a Government grant of 75 per cent. of the total cost of roads designated as trunk roads, whereas they only receive a grant of 60 per cent. in respect of certain main roads which are required by the transport authority to be built up to 100 feet width, he will have a survey made of such main roads which, owing to the anticipated traffic load, are of national rather than local necessity, with s view to extending to them the larger GON eminent grant?

It is upon the principle referred to that certain roads are given the higher rate of grant.

asked the Minister of Transport the total capital expenditure, up to the latest available date, of providing the grid system of electricity in England and Wales; and what is the lowest price per unit at which electric current can be supplied for public use, such as the lighting of roads?

The accounts of the Central Electricity Board for 1935 show that the total capital expenditure on the Grid System in Great Britain for general purposes other than standardisation of frequency, amounted at the end of that year to £34,643,643. No direct supplies for public use such as street lighting are given from the Grid System.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that British textile firms are importing wool textiles from Japan in the grey, having them finished or dyed and finished in this country and exporting them abroad as of British origin; and will he take steps to put an end to this practice?

One such case has been brought to my notice, and I am asking for further particulars. The available trade statistics indicate that any trade of this kind must be of very small dimensions.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what export licences have been granted during the previous three years for tanks or other armed vehicles and to which countries these have been exported; and will he give particulars?

Twenty-five licences were issued in the period 1st January, 1933, to 31st December, 1935, for the export of 179 tanks and 32 other armed vehicles. I regret that it would not be in the public interest to give details regarding countries of destination.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the value and quantity of cotton-piece goods imported into the British Colonial Empire during 1934 and 1935, respectively, from all countries and from the United Kingdom, India, and Japan, respectively?

I regret that it is not possible to furnish the information which my hon. Friend desires since detailed figures for 1935 will not be available for some time, but as soon as they are available I will furnish them.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has come to a decision as to the proceeding to be taken in connection with the loss of the steamship "La Crescenta"?

As I stated in Debate on 11th February, the matter has been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The decision as to any action in the matter now rests with him. The Director has informed me that he hopes to arrive at a decision in the near future.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of companies which defaulted under Sub-section (1) of Section 112 of the Companies Act, 1929, in the calendar years 1933, 1934, and 1935; the number of prosecutions made under Sub-section (2) for the same years; and the amount of fines inflicted as a result of such prosecutions?

During 1933, 226 public companies registered under the Companies Act, 1929, failed to hold a General Meeting in strict accordance with the provisions of Section 112 of the Act. One company was prosecuted and two of its directors were fined £50 each. During 1934, 248 public companies similarly failed to comply with the Section and a prosecution is pending in one case. Complete particulars for 1935 are not yet available. It should be observed that in most cases the default is only nominal as the above figures include a considerable number of companies which are moribund, are public companies in name only (i.e. companies where the shareholders are few) or have issued only the seven signatories' shares and have done no business. The figures further include companies which have held their meeting early in the year following that in which it should strictly have been held. Particulars with regard to private companies are not available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how soon he intends to put into operation the proposed change of uniform in the Royal Air Force?

The changes, both for officers and airmen, will be introduced gradually. They will begin for officers on 1st May, and become compulsory on 1st September, 1936. In the case of airmen, new issues will begin about the latter date.

asked the Minister of Health the number of prosecutions in Lancashire for selling impure milk or milk deficient in fats, stating the number of cases where fines were imposed during the years 1933 to 1935?

asked the Minister of Health the number of out-patient claims for mental patients that have been established to the present date?

The latest available information indicates that there are now 143 out-patient clinics associated with public mental hospitals. More comprehensive particulars will be secured by a questionnaire which is shortly to be issued to local authorities by the Board of Control, and I will in due course inform the hon. Member of the results of this return.

According to the reports of the Lancashire county analyst, the number of prosecutions brought by the county council under the Food and Drugs (Adulteration) Act in respect of milk during the three years 1933 to 1935 was 80, and fines were imposed in 53 of those cases.

asked the Minister of Health the number of cases of phthisis reported in Lancashire for the years 1930, 1932 and 1935, stating the number of deaths in each year; and for the boroughs of Preston, Wigan, Bolton, Bury and Oldham, giving separate figures for each?

The following statement gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to a nuisance of long standing at Llwyndafydd Square, near Saron, Carmarthenshire, caused by the effluent from the stables adjoining the cottages and slop water from the cottages running on to the road; if he will inquire from the local sanitary authority why this nuisance has not been remedied; and if he will take steps to have the said nuisance abated forthwith?

I will communicate with the local authority, as the hon. Member suggests, but I have no such power of action as is contemplated in the last part of the question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many cases of prosecution for river pollution took place in 1935?

My right hon. Friend regrets that he is not in a position to supply the information desired by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will consider introducing legislation to amend the National Health Insurance Scheme to remedy the anomaly whereby young persons entering into employment are insured for unemployment purposes forthwith, whereas they do not enter health insurance until they arrive at 16 years of age, and especially in view of the suggestion now made that non-manual workers in receipt of up to £400 per annum wages shall be insured for unemployment purposes who are not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme?

I would refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend on this subject in this House on the 10th December last.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is proposing to collect information as to the consumption of various kinds of food?

The Advisory Committee on Nutrition have represented that the available data on this subject are insufficient and have recommended that particulars should be collected on a more comprehensive scale than has hitherto been attempted. My right hon. Friend is now in consultation with his right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour regarding the information which can be obtained in the course of the inquiry which he is undertaking for the purpose of the revision of the cost-of-living index number.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will consider the desirability of promoting a measure to afford relief where unemployed persons in receipt of standard benefits are homeless and are obliged to rent furnished rooms?

I have been asked to reply. I would refer to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr. Parker) on the 2nd instant.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to the fact that the military authorities in Malta are purchasing subsidised Polish coal; and whether be will instruct them to buy British, of which ample supplies from South Wales are available?

So far as I am aware the suggestion made in the first part of the question is not correct. The contract for the supply of coal to the troops in Malta provides for the supply of North country house coal and Welsh steam coal.

asked the Secretary of State for War the trades from which enlistment is now open for the Royal Engineers unit into which the present 4th battalion Leicestershire Regiment is to be formed; what transfer will take place in respect of those members of this battalion who are not tradesmen; and whether the whole unit to date will train as an infantry battalion at camp at Haltwhistle prior to its cessation as a line unit?

No final decision to convert the 4th battalion, the Leicestershire Regiment, to an Anti-Aircraft battalion, Royal Engineers, has yet been taken, and the first two parts of the question, therefore, do not arise. The unit will train as an infantry battalion this year under Divisional arrangements.

asked the Postmaster-General when his Department expects to commence and complete the new post office at Stowmarket and end the disfigurement of the town by the derelict sight long reserved for that purpose?

The plans for the new office have been approved and provision is being made for the building to be commenced during the current financial year.

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) whether he is aware that the sale of the Crown lands of Ogmore-by-Sea and Southerndown to the Dunraven Estates, Limited, is considered by the Penybont Rural District Council and inhabitants of the area as a violation of public interest; and whether he will take steps to see that public amenities are provided by the Dunraven Estates, Limited, and safeguarded by the public authority;(2) whether, when the Crown lands at Ogmore-by-Sea and Southerndown were sold to Dunraven Estates, Limited, he contemplated that an amount over four figures would be obtained from car fees; and, if so, whether provision was made to safeguard the public amenities for both inhabitants and visitors;(3) whether, in the sale of the Crown lands at Ogmore-by-Sea and Southern-down, conditions were laid down that public amenities were to be provided from revenue by the Dunraven Estates, Limited; and whether the public authority, i.e., the Penybont Rural District Council, have been consulted in the matter?

I am not aware that the sale to which the hon. Member refers is locally considered a violation of public interest, and I see no grounds for such an opinion. Prior to the sale the only persons having any interest in the land were His Majesty as Duke of Lancaster and owner of the soil and the commoners, who were all or nearly all owners of property in the vicinity, who had the ancient right of common of pasture over the land for their cattle. Strictly speaking, the public had no right to use the common for exercise or recreation, and those who did so were technically trespassers. The Duchy, however, arranged with the Dunraven Estates, Limited, that that company should execute a declaration under Section 193 (2) of the Law of Property Act, 1925, conferring upon the public the right of access for air and exercise, and that the company should then apply to the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries for an order under Section 193 (1) for regulating and safeguarding this right. The draft order was deposited. in the parish in March, 1932, for a period of 21 days for inspection by all persons interested. Notices of such deposit were published in the locality specifying a time within which any objections should be notified to the Ministry. One copy of the notice was posted by the Penybont Rural District Council at the entrance to the offices of the council at Bridgend. I understand that no objection was lodged by the rural district council, who presumably regarded the order as satisfactory and adequate for the purposes for which it was intended, and the draft order was confirmed by the Minister without amendment. Among the clauses in the order was one making it a punishable offence to interfere with the use of the land by the public for the purposes of air and exercise. So far from public interest having been violated by the sale, therefore, the fact is that a valuable right of access to this beautiful common was conferred upon the public and was subsequently regulated and safeguarded by an order made by my right hon. Friend.The provision of further amenities and their safeguarding is not a matter which falls within the purview of the Duchy of Lancaster, and I have no power to take the further steps suggested by the hon. Member. It was quite impossible at the time of sale to estimate, with any degree of certainty, the revenue from fees in future years and no particular amount was contemplated.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether there is published any list of the Dominions showing the date when and the means by which they were acquired; and, if not whether he would consider the publication of such list?

I would refer the hon. Member to the Dominions Office and Colonial Office List, which is published annually and contains historical information of the nature which he mentions. The list is not an official publication, but is compiled from official records, and may be consulted in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether there is published any list of the colonies, dependencies, protectorates, and mandates, showing the date when and the means by which they were acquired or came under British control; and, if not, whether he would consider the publication of such list?

I would refer the hon. Member to the Dominions Office and Colonial Office List, which is published annually and contains historical information of the nature which he mentions. This list is riot an official publication but is compiled from official records, and may be consulted in the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs the number of emigrants admitted into the Union of South Africa during the latest convenient period; and how many of these emigrants were from the United Kingdom and how many from the Netherlands?

According to statistics published by the Union Government, the number of emigrants admitted into the Union of South Africa during the calendar year 1935 was 7,464. Of these, 3,259 are classified as British born and 631 as Netherlanders.

asked the Minister of Labour when Employment Exchanges will be informed of the arrangement under which men in receipt of public assistance are eligible for land settlement in the same way as those in receipt of unemployment assistance?

The necessary instructions have now been issued to all Employment Exchanges concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of unemployed persons registered at the Employment Exchanges in the City of Birmingham at the end of March, 1936; and how the figure compares with that at the corresponding period of 1935?

At 23rd March, 1936, there were 23,525 unemployed persons, aged 14 years and over, on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Birmingham. At 25th March, 1935, the corresponding figure was 28,341.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in the course of his inquiry into the working of the unemployment insurance regulations, he will give special attention to the position of seasonal workers who at present, while paying their contributions under the Act, are generally debarred from obtaining benefit when unemployed?

A report of the Unemployment Insurance Statutory Committee upon the working of the Seasonal Workers Order was published on 25th July, 1935. The Unemployment Insurance Anomalies (Seasonal Workers) Order, 1935, gave effect to the recommendations contained in the report and as at present advised I do not think that a fresh inquiry would be justified.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he intends to adopt the majority recommendation to raise the insurance limit from £250 to £400 a year, thus including that section of the community often described as black-coated workers?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 2nd April to the hon. Member for Birkenhead, East (Mr. Graham White) of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Minister of Labour the cost of the Department of the Commissioner for Special Areas up to 31st March, 1936, or the latest available date?

Up to 31st March, 1936, the cost of administration of the Office of the Commissioner for Special Areas (England and Wales) borne on the Special Areas Fund amounted to approximately £35,000.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has any statistics showing the numbers of agricultural workers who have left the Irish Free State to obtain work in Great Britain; whether such immigrants come to take up definite offers of work or whet her any of them use public assistance until they find it; and whether, in view of the unemployment among agricultural workers in this country, he will take steps to restrict the number of such immigrants into this country?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to a similar question by the hon. Member for Kensington, South (Sir W. Davison) on 23rd March.