asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is satisfied that the county territorial associations are sufficiently alive to their recruiting responsibilities; and if he approves of their accumulating their funds, as appears from Command Paper 5275, instead of spending them prudently for the benefit of their units?

I am satisfied that associations are alive to their recruiting responsibilities, and they are entitled to great credit for the improved recruiting of the last 12 months. As regards the second part of the question, the grants given to associations are, as the hon. Member suggests, intended to be spent on the administration and for the general benefit of units, but the accumulation of reasonable reserves is a measure of prudence not inconsistent with this intention and has justified itself during the recent years when economy was a paramount consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether there is any age limit in respect of the grant of commissions in the Territorial Anti-Aircraft Searchlight Corps; and whether, in case there is such a limit, exceptional cases falling outside the age limit are nevertheless considered?

I presume that my hon. and gallant Friend refers to the Searchlight Units, Royal Engineers, of the Territorial Army. The age limit for appointments to commissions in the Territorial Army is 31 years, but candidates over this age possessing special qualifications are exceptionally considered for appointment.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that considerable dissatisfaction exists amongst the staffs of the War Office as a consequence of the failure of the administration to provide posts of adequate grading for the performance of the work of the Department; whether he is aware that this dissatisfaction is increasing as a result of increased pressure of work; and whether he will take steps immediately to ensure that the question of inadequate grading of work is dealt with by the appropriate Whitley Council for his Department?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave this afternoon to a similar question by the hon. Member for Walthamstow, West (Mr. McEntee).

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give the number of man-shifts lost by lockout or strike action in the Nottinghamshire area from 1st January, 1927, to 31st December, 1936, and also in the rest of the coalfields in the British Isles over a similar period?

The number of working days recorded by my Department as lost owing to industrial disputes in the coal mining industry during the so years 1927 to 1936 was approximately 290,000 in Nottinghamshire and 8¼ million in the rest of Great Britain.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that there was a 40-minute delay on the telephone between London and Edinburgh on the evening of 14th April; and if he can take steps to improve this service?

As indicated in my reply to my hon. Friend's question on the 22nd of March, arrangements have already been made to increase very appreciably the number of lines to Scotland from London. The volume of trunk traffic in the evening continues to grow and until the addi- tional circuits are available I am afraid that it is not possible to avoid the occurrence of delay on some calls between London and Edinburgh during the cheap rate period.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can, approximately, state the number of pigs which have been sold annually as bacon and pork on the markets of England, Scotland, and Wales since the coming into operation of the Pigs Marketing Scheme?

The following statement shows the estimated total number of home-fed pigs slaughtered in Great Britain in the years ended 31st May, 1934, 1935 and 1936, together with the number of home-fed pigs bought for conversion into bacon by curers registered under the Bacon Marketing Scheme.

Year ended 31st May.		Estimated Number of Pigs slaughtered.	Number of Pigs bought for conversion into Bacon.
1933–34	…	4,699,000	695,941(a)
1934–35	…	4,979,000	1,667,599
1935–36	…	5,744,000	2,153.251
(a) From 15th November, 1933, only.

The estimated number of pigs slaughtered, given in the above statement, does not include those produced on holdings of one acre or less in extent. The number of pigs bought for conversion into bacon does not include pigs bought by curers who are exempt from the provisions of the Bacon Marketing Scheme, or pigs of their own production converted into bacon by producer-curers.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will state the number of ex-service men with war service to their credit who joined the Scottish prison service during the three years following the Great War; how many of these received an increase of only is. 6d. per week to their usual prison pay on being transferred to the Criminal Lunatic Department; and how many of this class of officers have over 12 years' service and have not yet reached their maximum rate of pay?

The number of ex-service men with war service (at home or overseas) appointed as warders during the three years following the Great War and still serving in that grade is 58. The number of these warders who have not yet reached the maximum of the scale of pay (as extended with effect from the 1st January, 1936) is 47. As regards the second part of the question, eight received increases of approximately 1s. 6d. a week—five being above that rate and three below it—and two who were already in receipt of special allowances before transfer received no increase.

asked the Secretary of State for Sctoland whether he will give the number of ex-service men in the prison service who cannot complete 25 years' service for pension before the retiring age of 55 years, and the number who can complete from 35 to 38 years for pension?

Prison officers are appointed at not less than 22 years of age and, in terms of the Superannuation (Prison Officers) Act, 1919, may be called upon to retire at age 55, and in any case not later than at age 60. Each year's service after the twentieth is reckoned for pension as two years, and the maximum pension of forty-eightieths of salary may therefore be earned after 30 years' service. The number of years' service for pension reckoned as above must therefore be an even number after 20 years. The number of ex-service men at present in the Scottish prison service who cannot complete more than 24 years so reckoned, i.e., who cannot qualify for a pension of more than twenty-four-eightieths of salary before 55 is 42; and the number who will be able to complete from 34 to 38 years, i.e., to qualify for a pension of from 34 to thirty-eight-eightieths of salary, before 55 is 86.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he is aware that, during the period that the Overseas Settlement Department have been subsiding the 1820 Memorial Settlers' Association of South Africa with a view to encouraging young men with capital to proceed to that country to take up agri- culture, the conditions were such that the South African Government formed a Farmers' Assistance Board, the object of which was to provide the farmers with an alternative to insolvency, and that there were no less than 40,000 applications for assistance to this board, representing nearly 50 per cent. of the farmers of the Union; and whether he will use his efforts to discourage intending agricultural settlers from going to South Africa?

The object of the 1820 Memorial Settlers' Association, which has received annual grants from the Over- sea Settlement Vote since 1923, is to give disinterested advice to intending settlers in South Africa. It is the case that in 1935 a Farmers' Assistance Board was set up by the Union Government to assist South African farmers, who, like farmers in other parts of the world, have been affected by the world economic depression. I am not in possession of detailed information as to the number of farmers assisted by the board. I am satisfied that the association take steps to ensure that intending settlers are aware of the difficulties which every migrant has to face who takes up agriculture in a new country.