asked the Minister of Transport what was the amount allowed for expenditure on or provisions for maintenance and renewal of the undertaking before the estimated net revenue of 5,798,602 was arrived at in Sir William McLintock's pro forma statement (Cmd. 4204, 1932) in connection with the London Passenger Transport Bill?

I am informed that the amount allowed by Sir William McLintock for expenditure on maintenance and provisions for renewal in his pro forma statement was £7,296,059.

asked the Minister of Transport, whether any scheme for widening High Street, Hucknall, has been submitted by the Nottinghamshire county council to the Ministry; and whether any application has been made for a grant for this purpose?

In the Five Year Programme of road works submitted by the Nottinghamshire County Council provision is made for an expenditure of £20,000 on works in High Street, Huck-nall, to be carried out in the years 1937–39. No information has, however, been sup plied as to the nature of these works and I am therefore not in a position to consider the question of a grant from the Road Fund.

asked the Minister of Transport, whether, in view of the confusion which exists in the minds of the public as to the rules and regulations governing the issue of railway tickets, he will request the railway companies to give adequate publicity to the fact that tickets must in all cases be personally bought by those intending to use them?

The by-laws of the Main Line Companies provide that "no person shall enter any carriage … for the purpose of travelling unless and until he or someone on his behalf shall have obtained … a ticket."

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether a new immigration schedule for this month has been granted by the High Commissioner for Palestine; and, if so, will he state the number of certificates granted?

The schedules of labour immigration certificates cover half-yearly periods. The High Commissioner has authorised a schedule of 4,500 labour certificates for the half-year, April to September.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether any petitions from the Arab community in Palestine are to be considered by the Mandates Commission at their present meeting?

I understand there are three such petitions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether he has any statement to make on the situation in Palestine?

While some measure of disturbance is still reported in various parts of the country, I am glad to say that the general situation in Pales tine has shown distinct improvement in the last two or three days. I deeply regret to say that a British Constable was shot and killed in the old city of Jerusalem yesterday. I feel sure that the House will wish to express its sympathy with his relatives and friends. The High Commissioner is satisfied that the forces at his disposal are at present adequate, and reports that another additional battalion had been sent from Egypt are without foundation.Honourable Members have no doubt see; in the Press that tear gas is being held in reserve by the Palestine Police for use in certain contingencies in sup pression of civil disorder. In making this annoucement for general information the High Commissioner has issued the following statement:—"This vapour is not lethal and is entirely harmless, producing no ill-effects beyond a temporary disablement. Its employment can in no case cause permanent injury of any kind."In authorising the use of this vapour, should occasion arise, His Excellency the High Commissioner has been prompted by a desire to avoid as far as possible the necessity for employing measures for preservation of law and order that might result in loss of life or serious injury."

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will include in the terms of reference of the Royal Commission, which it is proposed to appoint to investigate the causes of unrest and grievances of Jews and Arabs in Palestine, an inquiry into the conditions obtaining in the gaols of Palestine, and especially as regards the treatment of political prisoners, whether Jewish or Arab; and whether the Royal Commission will be requested to report fully on the Palestinian police force, its origin, and the methods of and qualifications for recruitment of this force?

I am not in a position at present to make any statement as to the terms of reference for the Royal Commission.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the East Anglian Electric Supply Company, Limited, are unwilling to supply the smaller villages in West Suffolk with electricity for economic reasons; and whether he will, in the public interest, make representations to the company with a view to their supplying these villages and, in particular, Bacton?

The discussions between the Electricity Commissioners and the Company, to which I referred in my reply to my hon. Friend's question of lath May, related to West Suffolk as well as to East Suffolk, and full consideration is being given to the points raised by my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was the total acreage of oats and of barley in the northeastern agricultural division of Scotland in the years 1913 and 1935, respectively;(2) what was the total arable acreage and total acreage under permanent grass in the north-eastern agricultural division of Scotland in the years 1913 and 1935, respectively?

The following is the information desired:

—	Oats.	Barley.	Arabel land.	Permanent Grass.
	Acres.	Acres.	Acres.	Acres.
1913	290,373	56,160	962,847	67,660
1935	279,236	25,766	911,843	100,215

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will made a statement, based on Reports in his possession, on the government of the New Hebrides under the condominium of Great Britain and France?

I do not think that the publication of such a statement is necessary in view of the fact that reports on the New Hebrides are published annually in the Colonial Reports—Annual series. The Report for 1934 was published on the 20th May.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether martial law has been, or is to be, pro claimed in Iraq because of insurrectionary movements among the tribes; whether railway communications between Baghdad and Basra are still maintained; whether the insurgents have been bombed from the air; what is the strength of the British Air Force in Iraq; and whether any British aeroplanes have been employed on repressing insurgents?

I understand that the Iraqi Government proclaimed martial law on May 5th in the limited area where the disturbances occurred; that railway communications between Baghdad and Basra have now been re stored; and that certain bombing operations were carried out by the Iraqi air force. The strength of the British air force in Iraq is four land squadrons and one seaplane squadron. No British aero planes were employed in the operations against the insurgents.

asked the First Commissioner of Works, whether, as relationships with the Empire have altered since the order of precedence was established, he will now arrange for the position of the Empire representatives at all ceremonial functions to be reconsidered?

If my hon. Friend's question is to be understood as referring to the precedence accorded to the High Commissioners in London for the Dominions, the position is that this matter was considered at the Imperial Conference of 1930. The recommendations of that Conference which are set out on pages 30 and 31 of Cmd. 3717 were subsequently put into effect.

asked the First Commissioner of Works, whether, as the world importance of the two great republics of the United States of America and of France has altered since the order of precedence was established, he will now arrange for the position of their representatives at all ceremonial functions to be reconsidered?

The placing of the Heads of Foreign Missions at ceremonial functions depends not on considerations of the relative importance of the countries which they represent but on the rank of the individual (i.e. whether Ambassador or Minister) and on the date on which he officially notified his arrival. This is in accordance with the regulations annexed to the Vienna Congress Treaty of June 9th, 1815. At a ceremony at which a foreign country is represented not by its diplomatic representative in London but by a high personage attending specially for the purpose, the position to be assigned to him must necessarily take account of his personal status without reference to considerations of the kind suggested by my hon. Friend. In these circumstances, it is clear that no rule can be laid down which would assure to any representative of a particular state a permanently fixed place on ceremonial occasions.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty, whether he will consider the desirability of naming one of His Majesty's warships H.M.S. "Gillingham," having regard to the importance of the borough of Gillingham, Kent, and its connection with His Majesty's services?

Careful consideration has been given to the possibility of naming one of H.M. Ships after the Borough of Gillingham, but I regret that there is no immediate prospect of this. Under the present naming policy, the only names of this character which are being used are those of Cities which are being assigned to the larger type of cruiser. I can assure my hon. Friend, however, that the claims of the Borough have not been lost sight of and will re ceive due consideration should a suitable opportunity arise.

asked the Minister of Health how many whole- time district nurses are employed to nurse the sick in their own homes in the city of Manchester per 100,00 of the population; whether the local authorities have applied to him for permission, under Section 67 of the Poor Law Act, 1930, to make grants for district nursing in this area; and whether, in view of the fact that the infant death rate during the past eight years in Manchester has aver aged 83 per 1,000 live births, whereas the infant death rate in districts with an adequate supply of visiting nurses is only half this figure, he will take any effective steps to increase the number of district nurses in the city?

I am unable to give separate figures for Manchester but, according to the information given in the Survey of District Nursing in England and Wales made by the Queen's Institute of District Nursing in 1934, the number of district nurses in Manchester and Salford was then 71, which is equivalent to approximately seven nurses per 100,000 of the population. I under stand that an annual grant of £600 is made by the Manchester Corporation to the Manchester and Salford District Nursing Association. As regards the last part of the question, I have no power to take action in this direction, but I may point out that the systematic supervision of the health of infants by home visiting is undertaken by health visitors, and that the Manchester Corporation have an adequate staff of such visitors.

asked the Minister of Health how many colliery companies in the counties of Derby and Nottingham make a charge for providing a certificate of the earnings of persons subject to the investigations of the respective public assistance committee; and will he give the names of such companies, with the amount charged for each certificate

According to the in formation in my possesion, the information desired by the hon. Member is as follows:

asked the Minister of Health, whether, in calculating the-compensation payable to the local rating authorities for the loss of rate income on tithe any and, if so, what assumption was made as to the value of £100 par value of tithe rentcharge?

As indicated in paragraph 9 of Command Paper 5102 the reduction of the gross annual value of tithe rentcharge as proposed by the Royal Commission was one of the factors which was taken into account in the discussions leading up to the agreement with representatives of local authorities in regard to the compensation payable to them for the loss of rate income con sequent on the scheme for the extinguishment of all tithe rentcharge.

asked the Secretary for Mines the total income of the Miners' Welfare Fund for the last financial year and the expenditure under each particular head?

The information is as follows:—

Receipts of the Miners' Welfare Fund (Output Levy, Royalties Levy and Interest on Investments) for the financial year ended 31st March, 1936

£748,723

Expenditure during the financial year ended 31st March, 1936.

	£
Pithead Baths	252,448
Recreation	147,060
Health	127,514
Education*	48,071
Research*	45,368
Pit Welfare	28,901
District Committees' Expenses	10,747
Administrative, Architectural and Building Expenses	40,227
(provisional)	£700,336
* In addition £7,211 was spent on education and £12,416 on research from Endowment Funds provided by the Miners' Welfare Committee.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the result of negotiations between the Government and royalty owners on the question of mining royalties?

No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed in Durham county between the ages of 16 and 65, and the amount paid in standard benefits and transitional payments since 1931?

pursuant to his reply (OFFICIAL REPORT, 25th March, 1936; cols. 1237–8, Vol. 310), supplied the following statement:The number of unemployed persons aged 16 years and over on the registers of Employment Exchanges in the County of Durham at 23rd March, 1936, was 117,704. The precise number of these who were over 65 years of age is not available but is known to be very small.The total amounts paid in unemployment benefit direct through Employment Exchanges in the County of Durham during the period from 1931 to March, 1936, were as follows:—

		£
1931	…	6,716,819
1932	…	2,485,231
1933	…	1,731,430
1934	…	1,531,409
1935	…	1,954,544
1936	…	454,542
(January to March)

These figures do not include payments through associations, for which a geo graphical analysis is not available. The figure for 1931 includes the amount of transitional benefit paid prior to 12th November, 1931, when the Transitional Payments Scheme was introduced. The comparability of the figures is also affected by the legislation of 1934 and 1935 regarding Unemployment Insurance.During the period January to March, 1936, the total amount paid in unemployment allowances through Employment Exchanges in the County of Durham was £1,210,968.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his Department has taken any steps to urge employers in a large number of industries to introduce the five-day working Reek as a contribution to the solution of unemployment; and, if so, whether he can give details of his departmental activities in that direction?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. I would add that while I have discussed with representatives of a number of industries the possibility of securing the absorption of more workers into employment by means of a reduction of hours of work, I have not thought it desirable to suggest any particular distribution of hours. In the light of the circumstances, employers and workers will no doubt consider whether or not the five-day week can be introduced with advantage into the establishments with which they are concerned. The hon. Member will probably be aware of the differences of opinion which exist as shown by the decision of the Boot and Shoe Operatives' Union this week.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of miners on the unemployed register who are 60 years of age and over?

I regret that statistics giving the information desired are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) whether he will state the total weekly amount being paid in transitional payments in July, 1931, and at the end of 1934, and the total weekly amount being paid in unemployment assistance at the present time, and the average amount per applicant, including dependants, being paid per week in transitional payments in July, 1931, and at the end of 1934, and in unemployment assistance at the present time, and in January and February, 1935, before the standstill order; and if he will give the above figures for England and Wales and for the Newcastle-on-Tyne area;

The information asked for in these two questions is being compiled and will be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as possible.