asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of persons employed at the Treasury who are in receipt of salary in addition to pension apart from war pension?

Nine members of the Treasury staff are in receipt of military retired pay, or pension, apart from disability pension. The nine consist of the secretary of the Government Hospitality Fund, two clerks and six messengers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state, up to the latest available date, the amount of taxation per head of the population in respect of each of the following services: Navy, Army, Air Force, education, public health, war pensions, old age pensions, widows' pensions, National Debt interest, and Civil Service administration?

It is not possible to allocate tax revenue, non-tax revenue and surplus between different heads of expenditure. The expenditure under the heads indicated from the Exchequer will be found in the Financial Statement for 1936–37. The estimated population in the middle of the year 1935 is given in the Statistical Abstract for the United Kingdom, page 5.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the information given to the Governing Body of the Nansen Office regarding the active participation of other Governments in the settlement of Russian, Armenian and Saarland refugees and of the fact that His Majesty's Government has not participated in this work, he will consider responding to the appeal of the chairman of the Governing Body for a sum of 70,000 Swiss francs to complete the settlement of Armenian refugees in Syria?

So far as I am aware, no appeal of the nature referred to has been addressed to His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom by the Governing Body of the Nansen Office.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that, at a recent meeting of the Governing Body of the Nansen International Office, it was pointed out that funds were urgently required by the office and that funds arising from the sale of Nansen stamps and surcharged stamps in Norway and France were inadequate for the work in hand, he will consider the advisability of making a financial grant or will promote the sale of a surcharged stamp for the benefit of the office?

His Majesty's Government already make, through the budget of the League of Nations, a contribution to the expenses of the Nansen International Office, and they would not feel able to invite Parliament to make any separate or additional financial grant for this purpose. As regards the issue of a surcharged stamp, it is the settled practice of the competent authorities of His Majesty's Government not to issue special stamps in furtherance of charitable and other objects. The request of the Governing Body of the Nansen International Office has been sympathetically considered, but it has not been found possible to depart from the customary practice in this matter, more especially as the cost involved in manufacturing and distributing the stamps would be out of all proportion to the revenue likely to accrue to the International Office.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he can state the quantity of coal exported from Scottish ports for the first five months of 1936; the quantities exported during the corresponding months of 1935, 1934, and 1930; the average f.o.b. price; and distinguishing between East and West Coast ports?

asked the Minister of Agriculture what was the total number of Clydesdales, cart and other heavy draft horses exported from Great Britain in the years 1934 and 1935?

The figures are 145 in 1934 and 58 in 1935.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that one Mubarak Ali, of Saghar, was searched by the police on the train between Amritsar and Lahore last April; whether anything incriminating was found on him; and whether this search was carried out in the presence of independent witnesses?

I regret that I have no information on the subject.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his attention has been called to the inconvenience caused to the public by the delay in obtaining satisfactory results from long-distance or toll calls after 7 p.m.; and whether he proposes to augment the present staff or take any other action to improve this service?

In recent weeks 80 per cent. of long-distance calls after 7 p.m. have been connected on demand and two-

The information is as follows:thirds of the remainder have been connected within 15 minutes. Toll calls are normally connected immediately. Considerable increases of staff and a large number of new lines have been made in connection with the evening trunk service, and further increases will be made as conditions require.

asked the Postmaster-General the number of wireless receiving licences in force at the last convenient date?

The approximate number of wireless receiving licences in force in this country at the end of May was 7,671,770.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can state the number of German nationals permitted to enter this country to reside here and to take up employment, respectively, since 1st January, 1933; what is the normal period of such permission; how many of this number may be described as political refugees; in how many cases has such permission been revoked or extended, and upon what principles are such revocations and extensions made; and whether he will give the same information with regard to aliens other than German nationals?

Statistics in the form asked for are not available. For the three years ended the 31st December, 1935, the total number of German passengers comprising for the most part business and holiday visitors who were admitted at ports in the United Kingdom for visits of varying length was 166,615 and the number who embarked was 160,521, leaving an excess for this period of 6,094 arrivals over departures. Out of the figure 166,615 the number of persons (including their dependents) who were admitted under Ministry of Labour permits was 11,436: a large proportion of the permits issued being for work of a temporary character involving only a short stay on the part of the foreigner. Applications to the Home Office by foreign visitors made after arrival for permission to prolong their stay for business, educational or other purposes are dealt with in accordance with the circumstances and needs of each case and there is no general rule as to the length of stay which may be granted. Permission to remain is not granted if there is good reason to suppose that the person is engaged in undesirable activities, is liable to become a public charge or is seeking employment or work for which there is an adequate supply of suitable British labour.It is not possible to classify the applications, which are of great variety, or to give particulars of applications granted or refused, but where it appears that an applicant has left or is unwilling to return to Germany for political, racial or economic reasons, a special record is kept of applications which are granted. The number of persons falling within this classification who have permission to remain here for periods of varying duration is, approximately, 3,800. This figure includes a considerable number of students and persons staying with friends or relatives, also research workers, persons of professional standing and persons permitted to engage in business. In 269 of these cases the condition limiting their stay has been removed.As regards aliens of other nationality, particulars of the number who have landed and embarked at ports in the United Kingdom and the numbers (including dependents) admitted under Ministry of Labour permits, are included in the statistics relating to alien passen- gers which are annually published and presented to Parliament.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what quantities of petroleum and petroleum products were exported from the United States of America to Italy and Italian dependencies in March and April, 1936, distinguishing the quantities of each month?

I have been asked to reply. The following table shows, according to United States official statistics, the quantities of crude petroleum and petroleum products exported from the United States of America to Italy and Italian Africa during March, 1936. Particulars for April, 1936, are not yet available.

asked the Home Secretary whether in view of the difficulty and expense incurred by motor cyclists and motor drivers in attending distant police courts at which the magistrates are unwilling to hold evening sessions, he will consider the setting up of evening courts to try alleged motor offences?

As previously stated, it is for the Justices themselves to decide when they will sit to hear cases. If the suggestion is that in districts where Justices do not think evening sittings necessary or desirable, some specially constituted Tribunal should be set up to act in place of the Justices, my right hon. Friend could not support such a suggestion.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will issue a circular recommending that, in the cases of motor cyclists and motor drivers attending distant police courts held in the daytime and entailing loss of wages and cost of transport, the magistrates shall take such proved loss into consideration in assessing fines in the event of conviction and for the assessment of costs in the event of acquittal?

Motorists are not the only persons who may be put to inconvenience or monetary loss by having to answer a criminal charge. When a fine is imposed, it is the duty of the Court in fixing the amount to take into account all the circumstances of the individual case, including the means of the offender. The circumstances inevitably vary from case to case, and my right hon. Friend could not undertake to issue such a circular as my hon. Friend appears to have in mind.