asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that uncertainty as to the future tariff treatment of United Kingdom cotton and rayon goods exported to India is prejudicial to British export trade; and what steps are being taken to ensure that negotiations for a new trade agreement with India will be initiated with a minimum of delay?

I am aware of the considerations advanced by my hon. Friend. Preliminary discussions have for some time been going on with the Government of India and there will be no avoidable delay in proceeding with the negotiations. Meanwhile the position under the Ottawa Agreement is being maintained, subject to three months' notice by either Government.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that Indian cotton manufacturers are able to compete in price with comparable United Kingdom productions in British colonial markets where equal fiscal conditions apply to both; and whether he can give an assurance that in the coming negotiations between India and the United Kingdom for a new trade agreement, this factor will be taken into consideration with a view to securing reasonable conditions for United Kingdom cotton and rayon exports?

I can assure my hon. Friend that the factor to which he refers will be borne in mind.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will consider the advisability of setting up an inquiry into the extent to which the cost of manufactured goods exported from this country is increased by the present high level of transport costs resulting from the taxation of road vehicles and the fuel which these vehicles use?

I am afraid that the results of a general inquiry of this kind would be inconclusive and would not justify the time and expense involved.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department whether he can give details of any orders lost in overseas markets owing to the incidence of high transport costs in Great Britain?

No cases have been reported to the Department of Overseas Trade in which orders have been lost in the circumstances described in my hon. Friend's question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the dangerous and increasing shortage of pig-iron and steel scrap; and what steps he proposes to take?

Yes, Sir. I understand that the steel industry are making every effort to increase their supplies of these commodities.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the number and names of the countries normally importing eggs into Great Britain with which we have trade agreements preventing us from taking any action tending to limit such egg imports; and what are the dates when these different agreements will expire?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I have given to-day to the hon. and gallant Members for New Forest and Christchurch (Major Mills) and Tiverton (Lieut.-Colonel Acland-Troyte).

asked the Minister of Labour what is the practice of the Unemployment Assistance Board in regard to coal allowances to applicants during the winter months; and, if such allowances have been made, the number and in what areas, together with the average amount of such payments?

The Unemployment Assistance Board inform me that unemployment allowances are determined and, where necessary, varied on the actual needs of each particular case. It is not practicable to compile the statistics for which the hon. Member asks.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps are being taken by the Government to deal with the question of unemployment in South-West Durham, where a number of pits have been worked out and the percentage of insured persons unemployed is 44·7; and what is being done to meet the situation without having to wait for the introduction of the Special Areas Bill?

I cannot add anything to the replies given previously to the hon. Member on this subject.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what was the average wholesale price of home-produced eggs in January, 1936, and January, 1937, respectively; and what were the average

—		Unit.	January, 1936.			January, 1937.
			£	s.	d.	£	s.	d.
Eggs, National Mark, Special Weights (a)	…	120	0	18	5	0	15	1
Eggs, National Mark, Standard Weight (a)	…	120	0	16	9	0	13	10
Eggs, 1st Quality (b)	…	Dozen	0	1	7¼	0	1	4¼
Eggs, 2nd Quality (b)	…	Dozen	0	1	5¾	0	1	2¾
Wheat (c)	…	Cwt.	0	6	3	0	9	9
Bran, British (d)	…	Ton (2,240 lb.)	6	8	0	8	9	6
Maize, Argentine (d)	…	480 lb.	0	17	9	1	5	6
Weatings (d)	…	Ton (2,240 lb.)	6	8	0	8	12	6
Middlings, fine, imported (e)	…	Ton (2,240 lb.)	5	17	0	—
(a) At London. The minimum weights of eggs graded under the National Mark were reduced on 1st September, 1936, from 2¼ ozs. to 2 3/16 ozs. in the case of Special Weight, and from 2 ozs. to 1 7/8 ozs. in the case of Standard Weight
(b) At certain representative country markets in England and Wales.
(c) Average prices returned at markets scheduled under the Corn Returns Act, 1882, and the Corn Sales Act, 1921.
(d) At Bristol, Hull, Liverpool and London.
(e) At London. No quotation available in January, 1937.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is satisfied with the efficacy of the system of marking imported eggs; and whether he will consider substituting a system under which the country, the day, the month and the year of importation will be clearly marked on all eggs?

At present all hen and duck eggs in shell are required to bear an indication of origin on importation, and I have no information that would suggest that the marking requirements are not complied with. There is no power under existing legislation to require the application of date-marks, and in any case I am afraid that my hon.

Average Wholesale Prices per Great Hundred of Polish Eggs in London.
Description.			Agricultural Market Report.				Weekly Dairy Produce Notes.
			January, 1936.		January, 1937.		January, 1936.		January, 1937.
			s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
53/54 Rg..	…	…	(a)		7	9	(a)		6	5(c)
51/52 Rg.	…	…	(a)		7	4	10	6(b)	6	2 (c)
Reds	…	…	(a)		(a)		8	6 (b)	5	1(c)
(a) No quotations.			(b) Monday, January 20th only.				(c) Cold stored eggs.
Note.—The quotations in the Agricultural Market Report are furnished by the official market reporter of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; those in the Weekly Dairy Produce Notes are furnished by the London Egg Exchange.

The following statement shows the monthly average wholesale prices of certain kinds of eggs and feeding stuffs in January, 1936, and January, 1937:Friend's suggestion would not be practicable.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what was the average wholesale price of Polish eggs during the months of January, 1936, and January, 1937, respectively?

No comparable prices for January, 1936 and 1937, are available, but the following statement gives such information as is available; the prices are extracted from the Agricultural Market Report, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the Weekly Dairy Produce Notes, published in the Imperial Economic Committee.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what was the average wholesale price of eggs imported from South America into this country in January, 1936, and January, 1937, respectively?

The average wholesale price of South American eggs at Liverpool in January, 1937, as furnished by the market reporter of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, ranged from 7s. 8d. per 120 for eggs weighing 14 lbs. per 120, to 9s. for eggs weighing 17 lbs. per 120. No market quotations are available for South American eggs in respect of January, 1936.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that a shorter working week is now being worked in the following coal-producing countries: France, Belgium, United States of America, and Russia, and is under consideration in other countries; and will he give a reason for the British Government's representative opposing the proposal that a tripartite conference of representatives, employers, and workmen should be held this year to consider the matter?

I am aware of the position in the countries mentioned. At the meeting of the Governing Body of the International Labour Office held earlier this month the following resolution was carried by 13 votes to 8, after a debate covering a wide field:

"That this Governing Body proposes calling a tripartite conference in October, 1937, on hours of work in mines, and that Governments be notified and asked for their observations. The reports received to be communicated to the Governing Body in May."

The representative of His Majesty's Government did not oppose this resolution but abstained from voting upon it. On receipt of the relevant minutes of the Governing Body meeting His Majesty's Government will give careful consideration to all the points set forth therein and will then frame the observations to be made to the International Labour Office in accordance with the terms of the resolution.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the present position in regard to the Geneva convention on hours of work in coal mines; and what action the Government propose taking in the matter?

The policy of His Majesty's Government in regard to the draft convention concerning hours of work in coal mines has been announced more than once and remains unchanged. Since the revision of the 1931 convention in 1935 the Government have always been prepared to ratify the revised draft simultaneously with the other Governments mentioned in the convention.

asked the Secretary for Mines the average export price of coal per ton f.o.b. for South Wales, Durham, and Northumberland for each of the years 1913 and 1927 to 1936, inclusive?

The information is as follows:

Year.			Average declared value (f.o.b.) per ton of coal exported from
			Bristol Channel Ports.		North-East Coast Ports.*
			s.	d.	s.	d.
1913	…	…	15	4	12	6
1927	…	…	20	2	15	6
1928	…	…	17	9	13	7
1929	…	…	18	4	14	1
1930	…	…	19	1	14	8
1931	…	…	19	0	13	8
1932	…	…	19	7	13	4
1933	…	…	19	9	13	0
1934	…	…	19	7	13	1
1935	…	…	19	7	13	5
1936	…	…	20	0	13	11
* Separate particulars for Durham and Northumberland are not available.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of employ és, year by year, in collieries in Great Britain for the following years, 1929 to 1936, inclusive?

Following is the statement:—

Average Number of Persons employed in and about Coal Mines in Great Britain.
Year.			Wage-earners.	Clerks and Salaried Persons.
1929	…	…	939,367	17,307
1930	…	…	914,328	17,048
1931	…	…	851,623	16,241
1932	…	…	803,615	15,709
1933	…	…	773,640	15,451
1934	…	…	772,831	15,379
1935	…	…	754,300	15,174
1936	…	…	756,000 (Provisional).	Not yet available.

District.	Per ton disposable commercially.
	Wages Cost.		Costs other than Wages.		Proceeds.
	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
Northumberland	7	6¾	4	7	12	8
Durham	8	3	4	11	13	3
Yorkshire	9	1½	3	11¾	14	2¾
North Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire	8	7¼	3	9¾	14	4½
*South Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Cannock Chase and Warwickshire.	10	2	4	1	16	2
Lancashire, Cheshire and North Staffordshire	10	11¾	5	1	17	3½
†South Wales and Monmouthshire	10	1½	5	8¾	15	6¼
*Cumberland, North Wales, South Staffordshire, Shropshire, Bristol, Forest of Dean, Somerset and Kent.	10	5	4	7	15	8
Scotland	8	4¾	3	11¼	13	8¾
*Great Britain	9	2	4	6	14	8
* Provisional figures.	† Nine months ended 31st October, 1936.

I regret that district figures are not available for the year 1913, but in that year wages costs in Great Britain amounted to 6s. 10 ½d. per ton, costs other than wages to 2s. 5 ½d. per ton and proceeds to 11s. 0d. per ton.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of fatal and non-fatal accidents, year by year, for collieries in Great Britain for the years 1934 to 1936, inclusive?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave on 2nd February to the hon. Member for Spennymoor (Mr. Batey).

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he will provide the following particulars in respect of the coal-mining industry: the average pithead price of coal, wage cost per ton and costs other than wages per ton, and, separately, for each of the mining districts for the years 1913 and 1927 to 1936, inclusive?

Information for the years 1927 to 1935 may be obtained from pages 132–3 of the 13th Annual Report of my Department and pages 148–9 of the 15th Annual Report. Particulars for the year 1936 are as follow:

asked the Secretary for Mines by what percentage miners' wages have increased in the Nottingham coalfield for the ensuing quarter or month over the quarter ended 31st December or the month ended 31st January; the percentage increase of profits for the same period; and similar figures for Yorkshire?

Following is a statement of the monthly percentages paid during the period October, 1936, to February, 1937, and such information as is available about profits during that period.The percentages of basis paid under the district agreements have been as follow:

—			1936.			1937.
			October.	November.	December.	January.	February.
Yorkshire	…	…	132	132	132	132	134·20
Nottinghamshire	…	…	143·16	149·62	153·91	159·22	168·98

In Yorkshire the flat rate advances agreed in January, 1936, have been paid in addition to these wages. In Nottinghamshire the flat rate advance has been merged in the wages payable under the ascertainment.

Profits.
Credits shown in the ascertainments per ton of coal disposable commercially.
—	1936.
	Oct.		Nov.		Dec.
	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
Yorkshire	1	4	1	4¾	1	11¼
Nottinghamshire	2	4½	2	5¾	3	3

asked the Secretary for Mines whether, in view of the improved financial position of the colliery owners, he will introduce legislation to raise the welfare levy to its former amount of 1d. per ton?

As the hon. Member will be aware, this question was carefully considered by Parliament as recently as 1934, when the Mining Industry (Welfare Fund) Act was passed. I do not think that there is any sufficient justification for re-opening it again, at any rate at present.