asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the total tonnage of sugar produced as a result of the subsidy of £39,576,193; what has been the average price (wholesale) per ton of this sugar; and what would have been the cost if this amount of sugar had been purchased at world prices (ex duty).

The total amount of sugar produced in the campaign years 1924–25 to 1936–37 was 2,207,442 tons of white sugar and 1,807,611 tons of raw sugar. In reply to the second and third parts of the question, I am only able to give, with some reserve, approximate figures. The average price of the sugar over the 13 years in question is estimated at £21 per ton for white sugar and £15 per ton for raw sugar, including Excise Duty. If the sugar had been purchased at world prices it is estimated that the cost would have been £36,000,000 (ex duty) on the assumption that the white sugar had been refined in this country.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will state the approximate length of time which elapses between milking and the delivering to the consumer in the case of milk coming from Cumberland to London?

I understand that in the case referred to a period of from 24 to 36 hours normally elapses between the times of milking and delivery to the consumer in London.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can state the total number of men in occupation of smallholdings provided by the Shropshire County Council since the War, together with the number up to date who have abandoned their holdings through insolvency or for other reasons?

I am informed by the Shropshire County Council that the number of men in occupation of smallholdings provided by them since the War is 206. Ninety have abandoned their holdings for reasons which may be classified as follow:

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the importance of the crab and lobster fisheries to the inshore fishermen, he will authorise a meeting of the Crab and Lobster Inter-Departmental Committee at an early date and instruct the committee to report as soon as may be practicable as to what steps can be taken to improve these fisheries?

I am in consultation on this matter with the Association of Sea Fisheries Committees of England and Wales. As soon as I am in possession of their views, I will give further consideration to my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is in a position to give the total value of imported canned crabs and canned lobsters into Great Britain during 1936; and the total value of crabs and lobsters caught and landed by British fishermen, including both Scotland and England and Wales, during the same period?

The approximate values of canned crabs and lobsters imported into the United Kingdom in 1936 were £689,000 and £254,000 respectively. These are provisional figures. The total values at the ports of the crabs and lobsters caught and landed by fishermen in Great Britain during the same year were £71,000 and £112,000 respectively.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is now in a position to give the approximate date when the new Fisheries Bill will be introduced into the House; and, in particular, whether he can give an assurance that the Bill will be introduced during the present Session of Parliament?

The proposed legislation dealing with the fishing industry is in course of preparation and every effort is being made to complete this task as expeditiously as possible. While I am unable to give an appropriate date for the introduction of the Bill I have every hope that it will be introduced during the present session.

asked the Home Secretary whether any further information has come into his possession with regard to the alleged prohibition of street meetings in connection with the by-election at Tunbridge Wells?

My right hon. Friend has been in consultation with the Chief Constable and regrets that there has been a misunderstanding over this matter. It is true that a letter from the Chief Constable, of which my right hon. Friend has seen a copy, states that he was unable to give permission for open-air meetings to be held in the streets. Of course, no person has any right to authorise the holding of meetings in the public thoroughfares, but the Chief Constable tells me that what he meant to convey was that traffic conditions in the main thoroughfares would make it impossible for meetings to be held there; he did not intend to suggest that no open-air meetings would be possible and he followed his letter up by taking the earliest opportunity of meeting the election agents of the three parties two days later, when the whole matter was discussed with the result that agreement was reached as to suitable sites.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the case of the Staveley Working Men's Club and United Services Fund, Limited, which is a club carried on in an old hut at the side of a disused London Midland and Scottish Railway Company's line; whether he is aware that boys of 15 years of age are members of the club; and whether the forthcoming legislation on clubs will deal with the structural character of the club and the age for membership?

The attention of my right hon. Friend has not been called to this case. With regard to the last part of the question, I am afraid that I cannot anticipate the contents of the projected Bill.

asked the Home Secretary whether it is proposed to publish an official handbook for householders in connection with anti-gas precautions; and, if so, when will this book be available for the public?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to a similar question by the hon. Member for Twickenham (Mr. Keeling) on 28th January. I am not in a position to add to what I said then though I would assure the hon. Member that the matter is being pressed forward as fast as possible.

asked the Home Secretary approximately the percentage number of prison officers who attended the last duly convened meeting of the representative board at each of the London prisons?

The percentages were as follow:

asked the Home Secretary whether he proposes, in accordance with the advice of the inspector of the police forces of the country, to advocate the creation of pedal-cycle police patrols?

Many police now work their patrols on pedal cycles, and every opportunity is taken to extend the system in suitable localities.

asked the Minister of Transport on how many occasions during the past 12 months meetings of the Transport Advisory Council have been dispensed with at the discretion of the chairman; and whether the work normally performed by the council has so far diminished as to justify such cancellations?

The Transport Advisory Council is a responsible body, established by Parliament, which settles its own procedure. I would wish once again to acknowledge the public spirit with which their duties are most diligently and helpfully discharged.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will consider the revival of the law of deodand, and its application to a motor-car the owner of which has been proved guilty of causing death by negligent driving?

I have no such power.

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of the children born in this country during 1936 were vaccinated?

This information is not yet available, as the returns with respect to births registered in a particular year are not received until after the close of the following year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the recommendation of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service that the extension of pension-ability to Government industrial employés should be the subject of separate investigation in the near future has been acted on; if so, on what lines and with what result?

I have recently received a deputation upon this subject. Their representations are under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has any information as to experiments with transfusions of blood from the dead taking place in this country; and whether he will take legislative powers or otherwise to limit transfusions to those from living people who willingly offer their own blood?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, and I am advised that no action such as is suggested in the second part is called for.

asked the Minister of Health how many children at Huddersfield up to the age of five years have been immunised against diphtheria; and how many cases of, and deaths from, diphtheria have been recorded during the last four years in Huddersfield in children up to five years of age?

I am asking the local authority for this information and will communicate it to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether the milk from one retailer consumed by 60 per cent. of the victims of the Liverpool typhoid outbreak was pasteurised milk?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on the 17th March to a similar question, of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will state the names of the arbitrators to whom is to be submitted the difference of opinion regarding both the suggested increase of the fees paid to medical practitioners under national health insurance and also the fee for juvenile workers?

I would refer to the reply given to-day to a question on this subject by the hon. Member for Westhoughton (Mr. Rhys Davies).

asked the Secretary of State for War whether the compensation payable to the owner and tenant of the 36¼ acres of the Monk's Park estate at Corsham, Wilts, taken over by the War Office, has been decided; and, if so, what is the sum each party is to receive?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative and the second part does not therefore arise.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has considered the resolution submitted by Nottingham joint Engineering Unions asking for the removal of the 45-year age limit for employment at the gun factory, Nottingham; and whether any modification is likely to be made?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative and to the second in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will move a sufficient number of troops, with Army lorries, into the Fenland area to assist the evacuation of the threatened population should the banks of the Ouse suddenly collapse, in which case there would be serious danger to life?

Arrangements have already been made for the military authorities to afford assistance.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that severe snowstorms and high winds invariably cause serious telegraphic delay, particularly to news services; whether, to avoid that state of affairs, telegraph lines of all classes in all exposed parts are to be put underground; and whether he is prepared to take the necessary action for this improvement to be carried out forthwith?

I am aware that interruption of telegraph lines sometimes occurs owing to stormy weather. Approximately 80 per cent. of the total telegraph wire mileage owned by the Post Office is now underground, including circuits on all the main trunk routes; and although additional lines are placed underground whenever circumstances warrant, I regret that financial considerations prohibit the immediate placing of all lines underground in exposed places.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that each evening from the 14th to 17th March there has been a delay in telephoning to Scotland varying on the average from 20 minutes to 40 minutes; and whether, in view of the large and increasing demands on the lines, he will reconsider the question of providing additional lines?

The number of calls handled in the evening in the London Trunk Exchange from the 14th to 17th March was exceptionally heavy, and this, combined with dislocation due to recent storms, made some delay on calls to Scotland inevitable. There are now 94 telephone circuits between London and Scotland and an additional 30 circuits are in course of provision to meet the increasing demand.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will state the total number of overtime hours performed by clerical officers and the clerical assistant staff in the London telephone service during the 12 months ended the 31st December, 1936, or other recent convenient date; and the number of overtime hours performed by each such grade in the accounts branch of that Department and of each such grade in the sales branch of that Department for the 12 months ended the 31st December, 1936?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, East (Mr. Lyons) on 18th March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the recent raids on Jewish cattle in Palestine which have been carried out by Arab raiders entering from Transjordan and Syria; and what steps have been taken by the Govern-

I am aware that there have been recent cases of cattle raiding in Palestine, but I have no information as to the origin of the raiders. I have already called for a report on the cattle raid on the Jewish colony of Mispah. As regards security measures, I cannot at present add to what I said in reply to questions in the House on 17th March.

asked the President of the Board of Education which local authorities provide free meals for school children; and how many solid meals and milk meals, respectively, are provided by each?

The preparation of the information required in respect of each area separately would involve a disproportionate amount of labour. The following table gives a summary, arranged under types of areas, for the year ended 3rst March, 1936, which is the latest complete year for which figures are available. The number of local education authorities providing meals has, since the end of that year, increased from 235 to 248.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he is aware that 75,000 jute workers are now on strike in India and that this may lead to a general strike in the jute industry; whether trade union leaders have been arrested or externed from the strike area; and whether he will state the wages of jute workers and the nature of the demand of the strikers?

I understand that between 55,000 and 60,000 workers are involved in this strike, which is at present limited to certain mills south of Calcutta. The strikers are almost entirely unorganised, but a trade union is reported to have been formed recently in the Budge Budge area where the strike began. Two persons described as Labour leaders from Calcutta were arrested on 5th March for alleged intimidation of workers who refused to strike, and since that date an order has been issued prohibiting the secretary of the newly-formed union and certain others described as Labour leaders from entering the area under the control of Budge Budge police station. The scale of wages averages Rs.20 per mensem, but is not uniform and varies considerably for different classes of workers. The strike began with the dismissal of workers for short returns. The strikers' present demands include reinstatement of dismissed workers, restoration of a wage cut made in 1932, no victimisation and recognition of the union at Budge Budge.